UPDATE – Saudi foreign minister visits Syria for 1st time in 12 years

UPDATES WITH MEETING BASHAR AL-ASSAD

By Mohamad Misto

ISTANBUL (AA) – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Damascus on Tuesday, for the first such visit to Syria in 12 years.

Shortly after his arrival, bin Farhan met with the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, where they discussed “efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis to preserve Syria's unity, security, stability, Arab identity, and territorial integrity, in a way that achieves the good of its brotherly people," the Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Bin Farhan underlined “the importance of providing a suitable environment for aid to reach all regions in Syria, creating the necessary conditions for the return of Syrian refugees and displaced persons to their areas and ending their suffering," it added.

Bin Farhan's visit to Damascus comes a few days after Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited Saudi Arabia for the first time in more than a decade, during which both agreed to resume consular services and flights between them.

Riyadh withdrew its ambassador from Damascus in 2011 and severed diplomatic ties with the Bashar al-Assad regime, following its deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The Syrian regime, however, began to exchange official visits and contacts with several Arab countries in recent months amid reports about a possible resumption of Syria’s membership in the Cairo-based Arab League.

*Writing by Mahmoud Baraka and Ahmed Asmar