Qatar resumes diplomatic ties with Syria after 13 years

Qatar’s embassy to Syria is to resume operations on Tuesday, the Gulf emirate announced on Sunday as its diplomats visited the country and met with its transitional government following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

“Qatar announces the resumption of the work of its embassy in the sisterly Syrian Arab Republic starting the day after tomorrow, Tuesday,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It also names a new head of mission to Syria, Khalifa Abdullah Al Mahmoud Al-Sharif.

Doha closed its embassy in Damascus and recalled its ambassador in July 2011, early in the uprising against the Assad government that turned into a civil war.

Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad, who was toppled by the 11-day rebel advance that swept through major cities and then the capital Damascus.

Doha said the return after the 13-year hiatus was “an expression of the State of Qatar’s principled stand with the Syrian people’s revolution” as well as a “categorical rejection of all the repressive policies of the regime” of Assad.

Earlier, foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told the official Qatar News Agency that a Qatari delegation was in Syria and had met with officials in the transitional government.

The delegation “arrived in Damascus to complete the necessary procedures for the opening of the State of Qatar’s embassy”, Ansari said.

In its meetings, “the delegation reaffirmed the State of Qatar’s full commitment to supporting the Syrian people… following the success of their revolution,” the spokesman added.

Ansari said the Qatari delegation had also “discussed with the Syrian sideways to facilitate the flow of Qatari humanitarian aid and assessed the needs of the Syrian brothers during this important phase”.

This week, an official briefed on developments said Qatar had “established the first channel of communication” with the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the ouster of the former government.

The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, added the “focus of the communication with HTS and others is on the need… to maintain calm and preserve Syria’s public institutions during the transition period”.

Other governments that opposed Assad’s rule, including Turkey and the United States, have said they too had established contacts with HTS.

AFP