Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister arrived in Damascus on Friday to meet with top officials from the new Syrian transitional administration, marking his first visit since Bashar al-Assad’s resignation.
Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud’s travel to Syria is the first since April 2023, when Saudi Arabia resumed relations with the now-deposed Bashar al-Assad regime.
The visit comes as Syria’s new leadership seeks to reintegrate the country into the international community after nearly a decade of isolation caused by civil war.
Belarus sent a delegation led by Foreign Minister Maxim Vladimirovich Ryzhenkov to Damascus on Thursday to meet with Syria’s transitional administration and al-Sharaa, according to Syria’s state-run news.
Belarus is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strongest allies, and the meeting is viewed as indirect talks with Moscow.
Fresh meetings were held between the new Syrian ministry of defence and their Lebanese counterparts to discuss border controls between the two countries.
Syria’s Chief of Staff Major General Ali-al-Naasan met with the Director of the Cooperation and the Coordination Office for the Lebanese Army Brigadier General Michel Boutros on Thursday to discuss the issue.
The meeting follows attempts by Syria’s new authorities to clamp down on border smuggling, with shipments being stopped on the Syrian side earlier in the month.
Alongside border controls, Syria’s central bank has ordered the country’s commercial banks to freeze the accounts of individuals and companies tied to the Assad regime.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Al-Sharaa commented on negotiations with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over extending his administration’s authority over northeast northeast.
The SDF wants to retain its own civilian and armed institutions if it integrates, with reports that its military wing wants to be a distinct block within the ministry, something Damascus is apprehensive about.
According to reports, the decision had been made on 5 October 2020 but camp residents refused because of Assad regime rule over their home territories.
Around 27,000 people live in al-Hol, according to recent US estimates, with certain wings of the camp dedicated to family members of IS fighters and other civilians, some of whom are not Syrian nationals.
The AANES has long tried to get foreign nationals to be repatriated by their respective countries.
