UPDATE - Bahrain to reopen Damascus embassy: Foreign Ministry

ADDS BAHRAINI FM’S REMARKS, CHANGES HEADLINE

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Bahrain plans to reopen its embassy in Damascus after a seven-year hiatus, Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry announced Friday.

In a statement published on its website, the ministry noted that Syria’s embassy in Bahraini capital Manama had already resumed operations.

Air flights between the two countries, it added, were also soon set to resume.

“Syria is a major Arab country in the region,” Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa tweeted on Friday.

"We will stand with Syria in restoring stability to its territory and help establish security and prosperity for our Syrian brothers," he added.

According to media reports, restoration work is already underway at the embassy, suggesting that formal relations between Damascus and Abu Dhabi may soon be restored.

Notably, the move by Bahrain comes shortly after the United Arab Emirates, too, announced its decision to reopen its embassy in Syria.

Bahrain closed its Damascus embassy in 2011 after the eruption of the Syrian uprising and subsequent crackdown on protesters by Syria’s Assad regime.

Last month, the Assad regime said it would welcome moves by Arab states to reestablish formal relations.