Saudi Arabia reopens embassy in Damascus after 12-year break

Saudi Arabia has officially resumed operations at its embassy in the Syrian capital, more than twelve years after severing diplomatic ties with Bashar al-Assad's regime following the brutal crackdown on the 2011 revolution.

During a reception held on Monday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, the chargé d'affaires announced that the embassy would resume its activities in Syria "to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries," according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.

Several press reports also indicated that the embassy, located in the Abu Rummaneh district, reopened its doors after undergoing repairs and renovations, while the embassy's functions had been conducted from the hotel until now.

Although Riyadh and Damascus announced their reconciliation in May 2023, the kingdom's envoy, Faisal al-Moujfel, was not appointed until a year later, several months after Syria reopened its embassy in Riyadh and appointed a new ambassador in December of the previous year.

This gradual approach reflects Saudi Arabia's cautious stance, given its relatively unmet expectations of the Syrian regime following Damascus's reintegration into the Arab fold.

Bashar al-Assad was received with honors in Jeddah on May 19, 2023, during his first Arab League summit in over a decade.

This initiative was pushed by the Saudis despite reluctance from other members of the organization, such as Qatar. Assad's rehabilitation also drew criticism from Western countries, who insisted on obtaining concessions before any normalization of relations.