RIYADH:
Ministers from Syria’s transitional authorities held talks in Saudi Arabia on Thursday on their first international go to since they toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad final month.
“By way of this primary go to within the historical past of free Syria, we aspire to open a brand new, shiny web page in Syrian-Saudi relations that befits the lengthy shared historical past between the 2 nations,” interim International Minister Assaad al-Shibani posted on social media after arriving in Riyadh late on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia severed ties with Assad’s authorities in 2012 and backed Syrian rebels searching for to overthrow him early within the nation’s civil battle.
However final yr, Riyadh restored ties with Assad’s authorities and was instrumental in Syria’s return to the Arab League, ending its regional isolation.
Now Syria’s new management is keen for Saudi funding to assist rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, which has been shattered by greater than a decade of battle.
Shibani was accompanied by Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Common Intelligence Service chief Anas Khattab, and the three males held talks with Saudi International Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Saudi state tv reported.
Final month, a Saudi delegation met Syria’s new chief Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, a supply near the Saudi authorities advised AFP on the time.
Sharaa heads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that led the insurgent offensive that ousted Assad on December 8.
Final week, in an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya tv, Sharaa stated Saudi Arabia “will definitely have a big position in Syria’s future”.