Qatar reopens embassy in Syria after 13 years of closure

By Iyad Nabolsi

ISTANBUL (AA) – Qatar reopened its embassy in Syria on Sunday after a 13-year closure following the downfall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said Khalifa Abdullah al-Mahmoud al-Sharif was named as the country’s charge d'affaires.

The ministry said the resumption of the embassy's operations in Damascus “comes nearly 13 years after severing all diplomatic relations with the Syrian regime in 2011."

This step, the ministry said, reflects "Qatar's principled stance in solidarity with the Syrian people's revolution and its steadfast support for their demands for dignity, freedom, and social justice."

It also represents "Qatar's unequivocal rejection of all repressive policies of the regime against the Syrian people," it added.

The move came after a Qatari diplomatic delegation visited Damascus to finalize procedures for the embassy reopening and discuss ways to enhance the flow of Qatari humanitarian aid to Syria.

Qatar closed its embassy in Damascus in 2011 over the Assad regime’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.

Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8 after anti-regime groups seized control of Damascus. The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters captured key cities across the country in a swift offensive that lasted less than two weeks.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala