Manama> Saudi Arabia and Syria have reached an agreement to restore diplomatic ties and reopen embassies. Both governments are set to reopen embassies after a short holiday in April, Archyde.com reported. This decision was made after several days of discussions in Saudi Arabia with the head of the Syrian Intelligence Committee, Hussam Louka. However, this has not been officially confirmed by the Saudi Foreign Ministry and the Syrian government. Meanwhile, Gulf News reported that the United States has opposed moves by regional countries to normalize relations with Syria, citing regime brutality in the civil war. Saudi Arabia and Iran reached an important agreement mediated by China to restore relations and reopen embassies, which paved the way for the Saudi-Syrian talks. Diplomatic sources had earlier suggested that this would help to resolve the crises in Syria and Yemen. It is seen as the most important development in Arab countries’ efforts to normalize relations with the Bashar al-Assad regime. Since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011, many Western and Arab countries have cut ties with the Syrian regime and closed their embassies. In the same year, Syria was suspended from the Arab League. The United States and its regional allies, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have supported some Syrian rebels. However, the al-Assad regime managed to defeat the civil war in most places with the help of Iran and Russia. In 2018, the UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus, the Syrian capital. In July 2019, Oman’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Youssef bin Alawi, visited Syria and met with President Bashar al-Assad. The diplomat said Syrian-Saudi talks could pave the way for a vote to lift Syria’s suspension at an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia in April. Read on deshabhimani.com