Oman and Pakistan return ambassadors to Damascus
SYRIA (North Press) – Syrian President Bashar Assad received, on Thursday, the credentials of the ambassadors of Pakistan and the Sultanate of Oman in Damascus.
This comes at a time when Washington is imposing new sanctions aimed at cutting off funding to the Syrian government, warning those who do business with Damascus of similar penalties.
The pro-Syrian government SANA agency said that the Syrian president accepted the credentials of Saeed Mohammad Khan as Pakistani ambassador to Syria, and Turki bin Mahmoud al-Busaidi the Sultanate of Oman’s ambassador to Syria.
The Sultanate of Oman sent an ambassador to Syria several years after the diplomatic missions of Gulf states in Damascus were suspended due to the ongoing war in the country since March 2011.
Oman, located in the southeastern quarter of the Arabian Peninsula, maintained its diplomatic relations with the Syrian government during the years of the war.
Several Arab countries are seeking diplomatic reconciliation with the Damascus government after government forces seized control of large areas previously controlled by the armed opposition groups.
In late 2018, the United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus and has a charge d’affaires there, in a diplomatic push to maintain relations with the Syrian government.
Kuwait said it would reopen its embassy in Damascus if this was agreed upon in the Arab League, suspended Syria’s membership in 2011.
In a related context, officials in Abkhazia, a disputed region independent of Georgia, announced their intention to open their country’s embassy in Damascus.