Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat in Damascus on Tuesday, state media reported, ending more than a decade of diplomatic deep-freeze between the two countries.
He met with Syrian president Bashar Assad where the Saudi minister pressed the need for a political solution to the Syrian crisis, as well as the need for an environment which would allow aid to reach all parts of Syrian, the foreign ministry said.
Prince Faisal was received by the Minister of Presidential Affairs of Syria, Mansour Fadlallah Azzam, at Damascus International Airport.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to Damascus confirms the Kingdom’s keenness on a political solution, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said, adding that Saudi Arabia was keen on the unity, security, stability and Arab identity of Syria.
The Saudi prince arrived in Damascus on Tuesday afternoon on the first visit to Syria’s capital by a Saudi official since the start of the country’s civil war in 2011.
Assad has been politically isolated in the region since the conflict began, but a flurry of diplomatic activity has been underway in the past week as regional relations shift following a decision by Saudi Arabia and Damascus’s ally Iran to resume ties.—AFP
