Russia welcomes the decision of Saudi Arabia and Syria to open embassies, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told RIA Novosti.
"This is a good step for both sides. There have been contacts. I think, and will be. We welcome the normalization of relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries," the diplomat said.
Asked about Moscow's participation in this process, he said, "We are always working with all parties concerned as friends, partners, advocating that they normalize relations with each other."
Earlier Reuters quoted sources as saying that Syria and Saudi Arabia had agreed to open embassies more than a decade after breaking off relations. For its part, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Arab and European officials, that a number of Arab countries not cooperating with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, seek to restore relations with him.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Syria in 2012, closing its diplomatic mission in Damascus and expelling the Syrian ambassador.
In 2012, most Arab states recalled their heads of diplomatic missions from Syria in protest against the policies of President al-Assad, accusing him of suppressing popular uprisings by force. Currently, a number of Arab countries are making efforts to return Syria to the Arab League, where its membership was terminated after the mass demonstrations at the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from RIA Novosti