Qatar delegation to visit Syria Sunday, diplomat says
A delegation from Qatar is due to visit Syria on Sunday for meetings with officials in its transitional government following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, a Qatari diplomat said on Friday.
“The first Qatari delegation visit to Syria is expected to happen Sunday where they will take the necessary steps to reopen the embassy and discuss enhancing aid delivery,” the diplomat told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the visit.
Doha closed its diplomatic mission in Damascus and recalled its ambassador in July 2011 after an uprising against the Assad government turned into a civil
war.
Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad, who was toppled over the weekend by HTS terrorists that swept through major cities and then the capital Damascus.
The diplomat said officials from Qatar’s foreign ministry would join the delegation and described as “untrue” “reports about a previous visit by (the)
Qatari intelligence chief to Damascus”.
This week, an official briefed on developments said Qatar had “established the first channel of communication” with the Hayat Tahrir al-
Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the ouster of the former government in Damascus.
Qatar said on Wednesday that it would soon reopen its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus “after completing the necessary arrangements”.
The move aimed to “strengthen the close historical fraternal ties between the two countries”, foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in a
statement.
It also sought to “enhance coordination with relevant authorities to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid currently provided by Qatar to the Syrian people” via an air bridge, the statement added.
MNA/PR
