Iran Press/ Middle East: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and met with President Bashar al-Assad as part of efforts to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Prince Faisal met President Assad after landing in Damascus on Tuesday, the Arab country’s state media reported. The top Saudi diplomat was welcomed at the airport by Syria's Minister of Presidential Affairs Mansour Azzam.
According to a statement released by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Prince Faisal’s visit falls within the framework of “the Kingdom’s keenness and interest to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that ends all its repercussions and preserves Syria’s unity, security, stability, and its Arab identity, and restores it to its Arab surroundings, in a way that achieves the good of its brotherly people.”
The visit is the first official one by a Saudi foreign minister to Syria in more than a decade. It comes following Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad’s trip to Saudi Arabi last week.
The visit comes days after Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited the kingdom as part of the efforts to restore normal relations between the two countries.
During Mekdad's visit to Saudi Arabia, an agreement was made to restore consulate services and resume air flights between the two countries.
This comes amid notable Arab efforts to fix stranded ties with Damascus after the Syrian war broke out in 2011.
Last week, diplomats from nine Arab countries met in the Saudi city of Jeddah to discuss Syria's return to the Arab fold, saying a political solution is the only way to end the Syrian crisis.
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