DAMASCUS — Syria’s new government thanked eight countries on Thursday for swiftly reviving their diplomatic missions after a lightning militant offensive ousted president Bashar Assad at the weekend.
The offensive, which took less than two weeks to sweep across Syria and take the capital Damascus, stunned the world and brought an end to more than a half a century of brutal rule by the Assad clan.
The militants, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), appointed an interim prime minister on Tuesday to lead the country until March.
The new government’s department of political affairs issued a statement thanking Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman and Italy “for resuming the activities of their diplomatic missions in Damascus.”
Italy had reopened its embassy in Damascus before Assad’s fall.
After the militants took Damascus, an “armed group” entered the residence of Italy’s ambassador in Damascus and stole three cars, the Italian government said on Sunday.
The new government also said it had received “direct promises” from Qatar and Turkiye “to reopen their embassies in Syria” adding it hoped to “build good relations with all countries that respect the will of the people, the sovereignty of the Syrian state.”
Many embassies had shut their doors as militants advanced toward Damascus.
Gulf states had severed diplomatic ties with Syria, closing their embassies in the aftermath of Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 2011 that triggered the civil war.
Most have restored relations since 2018, with the exception of Qatar.
Qatar announced on Wednesday it would “soon” reopen its embassy in Damascus, closed in 2011.
The move aimed to “strengthen the close historical fraternal ties between the two countries,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
The Gulf country also sought to “enhance coordination with relevant authorities to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid currently provided by Qatar to the Syrian people” via an air bridge, it added.
Doha had supported opposition factions early in the war and remained a fierce critic of Assad while also calling for a diplomatic solution.
Turkiye has backed some Syrian militant groups since the start of the civil war.
The war killed more than 500,000 people and forced half the population to flee their homes, with six million of them seeking refuge abroad.
AN-AFP