In the first comment on the visit of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad to Saudi Arabia and the return of flights and consular services between the two countries, a spokesperson for the US State Department told Al-Hurra, “Our position is clear. We will not normalize relations with the Assad regime in the absence of real progress towards a political solution to the main conflict.”
“We have assured the regional partners who deal with the Syrian regime that reliable steps to improve the humanitarian and security situation for Syrians must be a top priority and at the heart of any contact with the regime,” the spokesman added, who preferred not to be named.
On Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad arrived in Jeddah, on his first official visit to Saudi Arabia since the severance of relations between the two countries at the beginning of the conflict in Syria.
Al-Miqdad’s visit, according to the Kingdom, came within the framework of an invitation from Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, to hold a session of talks dealing with efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that preserves Syria’s unity, security and stability, and to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, and to secure the arrival of humanitarian aid to the affected areas in Syria.
Saudi Arabia and Syria are holding discussions regarding the resumption of consular services after a rupture that has been going on for years as a result of Riyadh closing its embassy in Damascus due to its anti-regime stance, according to a Saudi Foreign Ministry official recently.
Following the outbreak of the conflict, several Arab countries, especially the Gulf ones, severed their diplomatic relations with Syria and closed their embassies in Damascus. The League of Arab States also suspended Syria’s membership.
A Gulf Arab meeting will be held in Jeddah on Friday to discuss the Syrian crisis and the possibility of returning Damascus to its Arab surroundings.
An Arab diplomat in the Gulf told AFP that the meeting would deal with “major regional issues, and the focus would be on the Syrian issue,” noting that “the Arab summit and Syria’s participation in it will certainly be on the table.”
He pointed out that the meeting on Syria was originally scheduled to be held during the past few weeks in Jordan, but it was postponed.
