Italy To Restore Diplomatic Ties With Syria

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has announced that Italy will appoint an ambassador to Syria for the first time in 12 years.

 According to The Associated Press, Tajani said one reason why Rome was restoring ties with Damascus was to “prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.”

The step to normalize relations with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad comes after Italy and seven other European Union members sent a letter to Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, urging a different approach toward Syria and a re-evaluation of sanctions on the country.

Tajani said Italy received support to normalize with Syria from the other seven signatories to the letter, which include Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Slovakia.

At least five EU countries have some sort of diplomatic ties with the Assad government, including the Czech Republic, which never cut ties with Damascus. Greece re-opened its embassy in Damascus in 2021.

The US says that it’s strongly opposed to other countries restoring ties with the Assad government, but that has not stopped a growing trend of normalization. More and more countries are accepting the regime change effort against Assad has failed. Last year, Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League, and Saudi Arabia re-opened its embassy in Damascus.

The US maintains crippling economic sanctions on Syria that are designed to prevent the reconstruction of the country, which naturally has a devastating impact on the civilian population. The US also keeps an occupying force of about 900 troops in eastern Syria and backs the Kurdish-led SDF.