Syrian President receives Saudi FM in Damascus

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received on Tuesday Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan at the People’s Palace, where they discussed the bilateral ties between the two countries and other political international and regional files.

Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported that Al-Assad stressed the importance of the Arab role in supporting Syrians to overcome all repercussions of the Syrian war, restoring stability and liberating all Syrian areas.

On April 12, Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Mekdad visited the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia at an invitation of his Saudi counterpart.

The Syrian President stressed that there must be relations between the two countries, and these “relations do not only constitute an interest for the two countries, but also reflect an Arab and regional interest,” according to the source, citing al-Assad.

Due to the developments that the world is going through, the Arab cooperation in this stage has become necessary, according to al-Assad.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey try to normalize ties with Syria, “despite widespread and systematic human rights abuses,” according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Moreover, there are other Gulf states that rush to normalize ties with the Syrian government, including United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.

Reporting by Emma Jamal