Syrian FM visits Egypt for first time in over a decade
Saudi Arabia to invite Assad to Arab leaders summit: Report
Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad held a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart in the capital, Cairo, to discuss strengthening of bilateral relations as well as the latest regional and international developments.
Mekdad met with Sameh Shoukry at the Foreign Ministry in Cairo on Saturday, in the first such visit since the Syrian conflict broke out more than a decade ago, Press TV reported.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two ministers had a closed door meeting followed by discussions between the two countries' delegations.
The ministry said discussions were focused on "supporting the Syrian people to restore (the country's) unity and sovereignty over its whole territories."
"The ministers agreed to intensify channels of communication between the two countries at different levels during the coming phase," the statement said.
Egypt also reiterated its backing for a "comprehensive political settlement to the Syrian crisis as soon as possible," it added.
The meeting comes amid efforts by certain countries to restore Syria’s membership in the Arab League, more than a decade after it was suspended from the 22-member bloc.
An Egyptian security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the visit will help put in place steps to return Syria to the Arab League through Egyptian and Saudi Arabian mediation.
The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in November 2011, citing an alleged crackdown by Damascus on opposition protests. Syria has denounced the move as “illegal and a violation of the organization’s charter.”
Syria was one of the six founding members of the Arab League in 1945. In recent months, an increasing number of countries and political parties have called for the reversal of its suspension from the Arab League.
Back in February, Shoukry travelled to Syria, in a visit he described as "primarily humanitarian" following the devastating earthquake that hit the war-torn Arab country and neighboring Turkey.
In recent months, observers have noted, there has been a race among Arab countries to mend their ties with the Syrian government, more than ten years after the beginning of a conflict in Syria during which key Arab countries tried to oust Assad.
The new approach adopted by the UAE, which has proven to be much quicker than other Arab countries in making considerable foreign policy shifts to secure its interests, was welcomed by Syrian President Assad as “realistic and correct.”
Saudi Arabia is also planning to invite Syrian president to an Arab League summit that Riyadh is hosting in May, three sources familiar with the plans said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus in coming weeks to hand Assad a formal invitation to attend the summit scheduled for May 19, two of the sources said.
The Saudi government's communication office and the foreign ministries of both countries did not respond to requests for comments.
Assad's attendance at an Arab League summit would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011.