Qatar not eager to normalize with Assad's Syria, says FM

Qatar has no plans to normalise ties with Syria, the Gulf state's foreign minister said, after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office last week in an election derided by the opposition and the West as a farce.

Qatar was among several regional states including Saudi Arabia that backed rebels in Syria's decade-old civil war. Some like the United Arab Emirates have sought to normalise ties after Assad regained control of most of the country.

"So far we see nothing on the horizon for a political solution acceptable to the Syrian people ... the (regime's)approach and conduct has not changed," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told U.K.-based Al Araby television in an interview aired on Friday.

"There is no motivation for us to re-establish ties with the Syrian regime at this time," Sheikh Mohammed said. "The Syrian regime is committing crimes against its people."

Syria's government said that Wednesday's election shows the country is functioning normally despite the war which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced 11 million.

Gulf Arab states downgraded or shut missions in Damascus in 2012 over attacks by the government on protests at the start of the conflict.

The UAE re-opened its mission to Damascus in late 2018 in a bid to counter the influence of non-Arab actors like Iran, which along with Russia backs Assad, and Turkey, which backs rebels.

The UAE has a charge d'affaires in Syria. Oman, one of the rare Arab countries that had maintained diplomatic ties with Damascus, sent an ambassador in 2020.

Source: US News & World Report

 

The Liberum

Vox Populi, Vox Dei
See full bio >
The Liberum runs on your donation. Fight with us for a free society.
Donation Form (#6)

More articles you might like

Control your Life

Control your life before you get burned, and it is too late. I have read […]

The paradox of being Lebanese

It is not easy being Lebanese these days if it ever was. Surrounded by unfriendly […]

Space for Conspiracy - Talking SF and Education with Dr. Tarek El-Shennawy

What does the combination of science and science fiction have in common? From that perspective, […]
- by The Liberum on 24/09/2024

Double standards on Western Sanctions Unmask anti-Azerbaijani Propaganda

It is evident that Azerbaijan is regularly targeted by Western political circles fueled by Armenian […]

Patriot on the loose… Better Chris than Jack Ryan!

I was rummaging around the secondhand book market here in Cairo and came up with […]

Putin’s non-existent red lines could lead Russia into a nuclear abyss

It looks like Russia does not have any red lines. Almost daily, NATO-backed Ukraine inflicts […]