Tunis: The latest indication that full diplomatic relations with the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad may be about to resume is the Friday statement by Tunisian President Kais Saied that he wants to see ambassadors appointed to both Tunisia and Syria.
According to a meeting video posted on Facebook by the president's office, Saied told the foreign minister, Nabil Ammar, "A decision must be made on this matter.
To protest Assad's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011, which turned into a civil war and resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and millions of displaced people, Tunisia severed diplomatic ties with Syria nearly ten years ago.
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Since Saied assumed nearly complete power in July 2021 in what his political rivals have referred to as a coup, Tunisia has made it clear it is open to changing its stance on Syria in international relations.
In 2017, Tunisia reactivated a small diplomatic mission to Syria, in part to assist in the tracking of the more than 3,000 Tunisian militants fighting there.
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Although Tunisia added a diplomat to its diplomatic mission in Damascus last month, it is widely anticipated that the foreign ministry will soon name an ambassador there after the president stated that a decision must be made.
Political analysts said that Assad is attempting to gain political advantage from the earthquakes that occurred in Syria and Turkey last month by pushing for foreign aid to be delivered through his territory in an effort to lessen his current level of isolation internationally.
Including rescue and civil protection teams, Tunisia sent aid aircraft to Syria, which landed at Aleppo airport under the control of Assad's government.
