Tunisia sends aid to Syria in bid to reach out to Assad

In some areas of the MENA region, Arab countries are re-aligning their geopolitics through diplomacy, following the tragic events of the Turkey-Syria earthquake. Recently, Egypt’s leader Sisi reached out to the Syrian leader Bashah al-Assad and send food aid there.

And now, Tunisia will raise its diplomatic representation in Damascus  in a move that some consider as an attempt by President Kais Saied to restore relations with the Syrian regime, reports The National and agencies.

According to the UAE broadsheet, a diplomat from the Tunisian embassy in Beirut has been assigned to strengthen its mission in Damascus, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry said.

The decision comes as a measure “to follow up the situation of the Tunisian community in Syria following the earthquake”, a ministry statement on February 12th said.

The government said the first increase in diplomatic representation in Damascus in years was needed to ensure the safety of Tunisian citizens living in areas affected by last week’s mammoth earthquake and to help with evacuations.

In a meeting with the new Foreign Minister, Nabil Ammar, Mr Saied said “the issue of the Syrian regime is an internal matter”, specifying that ambassadors are appointed to a specific state and not any regime in question.

Tunisia severed its diplomatic relations with Damascus at the beginning of Syria’s civil war in 2012, when Moncef Marzouki was president in Tunis.

In 2015, relations resumed but were limited to consular representation office in Damascus to manage Tunisian affairs in Syria.

The National/Reuters