Egypt’s foreign minister visited earthquake-hit Syria, joining other senior Arab officials amid a broader push to bring Damascus back into the regional fold.
(Bloomberg) —
Egypt’s foreign minister visited earthquake-hit Syria, joining other senior Arab officials amid a broader push to bring Damascus back into the regional fold.
Sameh Shoukry’s trip to Syria is the first by the country’s top diplomat in more than a decade and follows that of the North African nation’s parliament speaker, along with officials from Iraq, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Libya and the Palestinian Authority.
Shoukry is also scheduled to visit Turkey as part of an effort to provide support to that nation following the two deadly earthquakes earlier this month.
The visit to Damascus comes as Middle East countries step up efforts to mend ties with Syria after its membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 because of President Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown on a popular uprising. That conflict quickly escalated into a civil war.
Read more: As Mideast Rivalries Cool, Power and Leverage Begin to Shift
Other Arab governments have begun looking to normalize relations with Syria. In 2021, the UAE’s foreign minister visited Damascus, a trip that stoked concerns in the US.
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