Qatar reopens embassy in Damascus after 13-year closure

Damascus: Qatar officially reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus, raising its national flag over the building for the first time in 13 years.

In the upscale Abu Rummaneh neighbourhood of Damascus, workers were seen cleaning the embassy compound and removing graffiti from its walls on Saturday.

The embassy’s reopening comes amid a wave of regional and Western representatives visiting Syria to meet the country’s new de-facto leadership following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government on December 8.

It also comes almost a week after a Qatari delegation visited Damascus to prepare for the resumption of the Qatari diplomatic mission, which was closed in 2011 following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

The delegation met with representatives of Syria’s transitional government and reaffirmed Qatar’s commitment to supporting the Syrian people in their pursuit of security, peace, development, and prosperity, Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said.

The meeting also discussed ways to enhance the flow of Qatari humanitarian aid into Syria and assessed the urgent needs of the Syrian population during this critical phase, Al Ansari noted.

Qatar is the second country, after Turkey, to formally resume diplomatic operations in the Syrian capital since Assad’s downfall.

Earlier on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country would support Syria’s transition process, and contribute to the country’s recovery and stability.

“We are supporting the Syrian people in managing the transition process smoothly, without any setbacks along the way,” the state-run TRT broadcaster quoted Erdogan as saying.

“Drafting a constitution is one critical step in rebuilding the state,” Erdogan told journalists on his return flight from Cairo, where he attended the 11th Summit of the Developing Eight Organisation for Economic Cooperation.

“For this, we have initiated communication with key figures in Syria’s new administration.”

IANS