Syria’s recent push to mend diplomatic ties across the Arab region has started yielding fruits as the country has restored relations with Tunisia.
A statement by Tunisia’s foreign ministry revealed that a recent visit by Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Mikdad where he and his counterpart Nabil Ammar birthed the resolution, sealed discussions which had been on for weeks.
The Syrian foreign minister had also visited Algeria and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks where an agreement to reopen their embassies and resume flights for the first time in more than a decade was reached.
Tunisia has long been among Assad’s fiercest detractors, and served as the birthplace of the pro-democracy Arab Spring demonstrations that expanded to Syria in 2011. Yet today’s Tunisian officials are turning back toward authoritarianism and re-aligning with Assad’s Syria.
Recall that earlier this month, Tunisian President, Kais Saied ordered the appointment of an ambassador to the Syrian capital, Damascus after the Syrian government reopened its embassy in Tunis and appointed an ambassador.
Arab states largely avoided Syria after Mr. Assad’s bloody crackdown on protestors in 2011. As a result of the deterioration in the relationship, Syria was expelled from the Arab League.
In an effort to lessen his international isolation, Syrian President Assad pushed for foreign aid to be delivered through his country, taking advantage of the recent earthquake that affected both Syria and Turkey.
Midway through March 2011, protests demanding the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad erupted in southern Syria and quickly expanded throughout the nation. The Assad regime’s ruthless crackdown on the protestors was denounced by world leaders and human rights organizations.