Algiers, Algeria-– Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Algeria on Saturday, Algerian state radio reported late on Friday, a visit that reinforces Damascus’ openness to the Arab world after it was isolated for more than a decade.
The Algerian foreign minister, Ahmed Ataf, received the visiting minister, state radio said.
It is expected that Mekdad will also visit Tunis early next week.
Syria and Tunisia agreed on Wednesday to reopen their respective embassies, 11 years after Tunis severed ties to protest a deadly crackdown on demonstrators opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
On Wednesday, Syria’s foreign minister arrived in Saudi Arabia, in the first such trip since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011.
Faisal Mekdad and an accompanying delegation arrived in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah at the invitation of Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan, according to Syrian state news agency Sana.
The Gulf kingdom is set to host a meeting of regional foreign ministers on Friday to discuss Damascus returning to the Arab League.
Syria was suspended from the Arab League 12 years ago, following the government’s brutal crackdown on mass protests against Bashar al-Assad’s rule, with many Arab states demanding the president’s removal.
But in recent years, as Assad – with significant Russian assistance – has defeated his enemies across much of Syria, regional states have taken steps to end the isolation of Damascus, with the United Arab Emirates at the forefront of Arab rapprochement.
