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Syria's President Bashar al-Assad addresses the new members of parliament in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on August 12, 2020.
Syria and Saudi Arabia have reportedly agreed to reopen their embassies after a decade, after Damascus ally Tehran made a deal recently to revive ties with Riyadh.
Reuters quoted three unnamed sources Thursday saying that the two countries will reopen embassies in one month, although they have not made any official announcements yet.
The re-establishment of ties between Riyadh and Damascus would mark the most significant development yet in moves by Arab states to normalize ties with Assad, who was shunned by many Western and Arab states after Syria's civil war began in 2011.
The decision was the result of talks in Saudi Arabia with a senior Syrian intelligence official, according to one of the regional sources and a diplomat in the Gulf.
The re-establishment of ties between Riyadh and Damascus would mark the most significant development yet in moves by Arab states to normalize ties with Assad, who was shunned by many Western and Arab states after Syria's civil war began in 2011.
The United States has opposed moves by regional countries to normalize ties with Assad, citing his government's brutality during the conflict and the need to see progress towards a political solution.
The re-establishment of ties could pave the way for Syria’s return to the Arab league. Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 in response to Assad's brutal crackdown on protests.
While Assad has basked in renewed contacts with Arab states that once shunned him, US sanctions remain a major complicating factor for countries seeking to expand commercial ties.
