Syria flag (flickr).
The foreign ministers of Syria and Tunisia affirmed their desire to fully restore relations between the two countries during a telephone call on March 4.
In a statement, the Tunisina Foreign Ministry said that minister Nabil Ammar received a phone call from his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad. During the call, Mekdad conveyed the greetings and appreciation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied. He also praised Tunisia’s stand with Syria after the devastating February 6 earthquake.
“This conversation represented an occasion in which the two ministers renewed the desire to return the fraternal bilateral relations between Tunisia and Syria to their normal course, especially through raising the level of diplomatic representation and exchanging visits by officials of the two countries,” the statement reads.
Tunisia cut off all diplomatic relations with Damascus following the outbreak of the war in Syria more than a decade ago. In 2017, Tunisia returned a limited diplomatic mission to Damascus.
The country was among the very first to provide humanitarian aid to victims in Syria following the recent earthquake, which claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people in the country and 51,000 others in neighboring Turkey.
President Saied announced after the disaster that Tunisia will strengthen diplomatic ties with Syria and appoint a new ambassador in Damascus.
Tunisia was not the only Arab country that approached Syria to provide support after the earthquake. Egypt took similar steps to boost relations with the war-torn country in the last few weeks. Saudi Arabia is also reportedly close to launching a rapprochement process with the government of President al-Assad.
