Syrian regime foreign minister to meet with four Arab counterparts in Jordan as Assad normalisation progresses

Syrian regime foreign minister Faisal Mekdad will meet his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan in Amman amid improved ties with Arab states.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

30 April, 2023

Faisal Mekdad has held several meetings with Arab counterparts as the Syrian regime improves relations with regional states [Getty]

Amman will on Monday host a meeting which will be attended by Syrian regime foreign minister Faisal Mekdad and four of his Arab counterparts, Jordan announced on Sunday.

"Jordan will host tomorrow on Monday a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Iraq, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, with the foreign minister of the Syrian Arab Republic," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It added that the follow-up meeting comes after a similar meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah earlier this month – which also included foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council - to discuss bringing the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad back to the Arab League.

The Jordanian foreign ministry said that it comes as part of Jordan’s initiative to "reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis."

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The Syrian regime was suspended from the regional body after President Bashar Al-Assad's forces launched a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011, which later spiralled into what has become a 12-year conflict.

Over 500,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced in Syria since 2011, mostly as a result of regime bombardment of civilian areas.

An Arab League summit scheduled to take place in May in Saudi Arabia could see the attendance of Assad.

This year, Arab countries have increasingly moved to normalise ties with Assad.

Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad has already made visits to a number of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia. His Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan visited Syria this month for the first time since the conflict began.

The rapproachment comes following a landmark China-brokered deal in March between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran has been a key backer of the Assad regime since the war in Syria broke out.