{"id":5902,"date":"2023-04-18T17:29:21","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T17:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5902"},"modified":"2023-04-18T17:29:21","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T17:29:21","slug":"syria-and-tunisia-resume-diplomatic-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/diplomatic-world\/syria-and-tunisia-resume-diplomatic-relations\/2023\/04\/18\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria and Tunisia resume diplomatic relations"},"content":{"rendered":"

TUNIS,<\/span> Tunisia<\/span> (AP)<\/span> –<\/span>Syria’s<\/span> chief<\/span> diplomat<\/span> is<\/span> on<\/span> a<\/span> mission<\/span> to<\/span> restore<\/span> diplomatic<\/span> ties<\/span> that<\/span> were<\/span> severed<\/span> during<\/span> the<\/span> 2012<\/span> civil<\/span> war<\/span> after<\/span> President<\/span> Bashar<\/span> al-Assad<\/span> cracked<\/span> down<\/span> on<\/span> mass<\/span> protests<\/span> against<\/span> his<\/span> rule.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Syrian<\/span> Foreign<\/span> Minister<\/span> Faisal<\/span> Miqdad<\/span> met<\/span> with<\/span> Tunisian<\/span> Foreign<\/span> Minister<\/span> Nabil<\/span> Amal<\/span> shortly<\/span> after<\/span> his<\/span> arrival<\/span> on<\/span> Monday<\/span> night.<\/span> Details<\/span> about<\/span> the<\/span> meeting<\/span> and<\/span> Mikdad’s<\/span> schedule<\/span> for<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> or<\/span> Wednesday<\/span> were<\/span> not<\/span> given.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Tunisian<\/span> foreign<\/span> ministry<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> statement<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> visit<\/span> aims<\/span> to<\/span> help<\/span> restore<\/span> bilateral<\/span> relations.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> February,<\/span> Said<\/span> announced<\/span> his<\/span> decision<\/span> to<\/span> raise<\/span> the<\/span> level<\/span> of<\/span> Tunisian<\/span> diplomatic<\/span> representation<\/span> in<\/span> Damascus,<\/span> stressing<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> crisis<\/span> facing<\/span> the<\/span> Assad<\/span> regime<\/span> “is<\/span> an<\/span> internal<\/span> affair<\/span> that<\/span> affects<\/span> only<\/span> the<\/span> Syrian<\/span> people”.<\/span> bottom.<\/span> The<\/span> move<\/span> comes<\/span> as<\/span> Tunisia<\/span> is<\/span> sending<\/span> emergency<\/span> humanitarian<\/span> aid<\/span> to<\/span> Syria<\/span> after<\/span> an<\/span> earthquake<\/span> that<\/span> killed<\/span> tens<\/span> of<\/span> thousands<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> country<\/span> and<\/span> neighboring<\/span> Turkey.<\/span> Mikdad’s<\/span> visit<\/span> to<\/span> Tunisia<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> second<\/span> leg<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> journey<\/span> that<\/span> began<\/span> in<\/span> Algeria,<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> few<\/span> Arab<\/span> countries<\/span> to<\/span> maintain<\/span> diplomatic<\/span> relations<\/span> during<\/span> the<\/span> Syrian<\/span> civil<\/span> war.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Influential<\/span> Tunisian<\/span> Islamist<\/span> leader<\/span> Ratched<\/span> Ghannouchi<\/span> was<\/span> arrested<\/span> following<\/span> a<\/span> police<\/span> raid<\/span> after<\/span> his<\/span> lawyers<\/span> said<\/span> his<\/span> supporters<\/span> accused<\/span> the<\/span> president<\/span> of<\/span> suppressing<\/span> the<\/span> Tunisian<\/span> opposition.<\/span> Ghannouchi,<\/span> the<\/span> leader<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Ennahdha<\/span> party,<\/span> is<\/span> Said’s<\/span> most<\/span> prominent<\/span> critic.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Last<\/span> week<\/span> Mikdad<\/span> also<\/span> traveled<\/span> to<\/span> Saudi<\/span> Arabia.<\/span> The<\/span> two<\/span> countries<\/span> are<\/span> looking<\/span> to<\/span> reopen<\/span> their<\/span> embassies<\/span> and<\/span> resume<\/span> flights<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> time<\/span> in<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> a<\/span> decade,<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span> Syria<\/span> was<\/span> alienated<\/span> from<\/span> Arab<\/span> countries<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> Assad<\/span> regime’s<\/span> brutal<\/span> crackdown<\/span> on<\/span> demonstrators<\/span> in<\/span> 2011.<\/span> The<\/span> breakdown<\/span> of<\/span> relations<\/span> culminated<\/span> in<\/span> Syria’s<\/span> expulsion<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> Arab<\/span> League.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> recent<\/span> years,<\/span> however,<\/span> Syria’s<\/span> neighbors<\/span> have<\/span> begun<\/span> taking<\/span> steps<\/span> toward<\/span> reconciliation<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> Assad<\/span> regime<\/span> tightened<\/span> control<\/span> over<\/span> most<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> country.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> move<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> clear<\/span> example<\/span> of<\/span> how<\/span> the<\/span> situation<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> region<\/span> has<\/span> changed<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> past<\/span> decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tunisia<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> birthplace<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> 2011<\/span> Arab<\/span> Spring<\/span> pro-democracy<\/span> movement<\/span> that<\/span> swept<\/span> Syria,<\/span> and<\/span> has<\/span> long<\/span> been<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> country’s<\/span> strongest<\/span> critics<\/span> of<\/span> President<\/span> Assad.<\/span> Today,<\/span> however,<\/span> Tunisian<\/span> leadership<\/span> is<\/span> returning<\/span> to<\/span> authoritarianism<\/span> and<\/span> is<\/span> being<\/span> reorganized<\/span> into<\/span> Assad’s<\/span> Syria.<\/span> Earlier<\/span> this<\/span> month,<\/span> Tunisian<\/span> President<\/span> Kais<\/span> Said<\/span> ordered<\/span> an<\/span> ambassador<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> appointed<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Syrian<\/span> capital<\/span> Damascus.<\/span> This<\/span> followed<\/span> the<\/span> Syrian<\/span> government’s<\/span> decision<\/span> to<\/span> reopen<\/span> its<\/span> embassy<\/span> in<\/span> Tunis<\/span> and<\/span> appoint<\/span> an<\/span> ambassador.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) –Syria’s chief diplomat is on a mission to restore diplomatic ties that were severed during the 2012 civil war after President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on mass protests against his rule.\u00a0 Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad met with Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Amal shortly after his arrival on Monday night. Details about […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[24,280,2460],"tags":[487,755,4045,4046,4047],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TUNIS.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5902"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5902"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5905,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5902\/revisions\/5905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}