Syria’s Assad visits Oman in first post-quake trip
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – In a visit considered the first of its kind since the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited the Sultanate of Oman in an official trip on Monday.
The one-day visit came two weeks after the Feb. 6 deadly earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey, killing more than 44.000 and injuring many more, in addition to destroying thousands of buildings in both countries.
Al-Assad was received by Sultan Haitham bin Tareq al-Said and held official talks at the royal palace in Muscat.
The earthquake revived relations with the Syrian government, as some Arab countries rushed to the internationally shunned Syria to provide logistic and relief aid.
The Omani ruler extended his sincere condolences and sympathy to the Syrian people over the devastating earthquake.
Al-Assad and his Omani counterpart discussed regional issues and bilateral ties, after that they hold a private meeting, Oman’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Unlike other Arab Gulf states, Oman never severed diplomatic ties with Syria during the 12-year-war.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain both normalized relations with Syria in 2018, when the UAE embassy was opened in the Syrian capital.
In March 2022, Syria’s President astoundingly paid a visit to the UAE in his first trip to an Arab state since the war began, followed only by Monday’s Oman’s.
Analysts say a diplomatic momentum generated by aid efforts in the quake’s aftermath could enhance the return of Syria to the Arab world, as well as it will shore up al-Assad’s relations with other countries in the Middle East that have so far resisted normalization.