Syrian foreign minister visits Saudi Arabia for the first time since 2011

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad arrived on April 12 in the Saudi city of Jeddah at the invitation of the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan. This is reported by the state Syrian agency Sana. This is the first visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Saudi Arabia since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, during which the Saudis massively supported the armed opposition. The Saudi state agency SPA reported that Miqdad had arrived in the country for talks on “achieving a political solution to the Syrian crisis” and on the return of refugees. The Syrian Minister will also discuss the issue of humanitarian aid to the earthquake-affected regions of Syria.

Mikdad’s visit comes ahead of a meeting of representatives of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf scheduled for April 13, which will meet in Jeddah. There will be discussed the question of the admissibility of the return of Syria to the League of Arab States (LAS). The next summit of the organization will be held on May 19 in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. April 5 that the Saudi side is making efforts to return Syria to the Arab League, Bloomberg wrote, citing sources.