Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud plans to visit Syria for the Eid al-Fitr holiday (Uraza Bayram among Turkic peoples), which is celebrated this year on April 22 after the end of Ramadan fasting. An Arab diplomatic source in Beirut told TASS on Monday.
"The Saudi foreign minister's visit to Damascus will coincide with the opening of the kingdom's embassy after a 12-year break," the source pointed out. According to its information, preparations for the visit of Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud were discussed last week in Riyadh, where a delegation of senior officials from the Syrian foreign ministry and special services was staying.
On February 18, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the head of the Kingdom's foreign ministry did not answer the journalists' question about when his visit to Damascus would take place. However, he said that "the moment will come when dialogue with the Syrian government will be necessary."
Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador from Damascus and joined an economic boycott of Syria in 2011. During the armed conflict, Riyadh provided financial support to opposition militias that opposed the government. Since 2018, Saudi diplomacy has joined efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis politically.
On February 14, the first Saudi plane carrying humanitarian aid to earthquake-stricken Syrians landed at Aleppo airport, carrying 35 tons of food and medicine. The kingdom also sent humanitarian supplies to northwest Syria via the Turkish border.
After the natural disaster struck Syria on February 6, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates visited Damascus and met with President Bashar al-Assad to express their support on behalf of their countries.
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Photo: Alexander Shcherbak / TASS
Based on materials from TASS