Sudanese president makes surprise visit to Syria

December 16, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir paid a surprise visit to Damascus on Sunday, expressing readiness to improve bilateral relation with the isolated Arab country.

The one-day visit was the first since the imposition of Arab sanctions against Damascus as a result of the repressive campaign of the Syrian uprising against the al-Assad regime started in March 2011.

Al-Bashir is the first Arab leader to visit Syria since the start of the Syrian crisis in March 2011.

“President al-Assad and President al-Bashir affirmed that the circumstances and crises experienced by many Arab countries require new approaches for Arab action based on respecting the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs,” said a statement released by the Sudanese and Syrian official news agencies.

The statement further said that these approaches, “should improve inter-Arab relations and serve the interests of the Arab people”.

The visiting president voiced hope that Syria will recover soon, and that its people will be able to decide on the country’s future themselves without any foreign interference. Also, he stressed that Sudan supports Syria and its security, and is prepared to provide all that it could to support Syria’s territorial integrity.

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in November 2011 in response to the Syrian government’s violent attacks on pro-democracy protests.

However, Khartoum refused to follow several Arab countries and severe ties with Damascus despite the crackdown on the Syrian Islamist groups.

The Sudanese Ambassador in Damascus Khalid Mohamed Ahmed Ali was at the airport with President al-Assad to receive al-Bashir.

For his part, al-Assad thanked al-Bashir for his visit and stressed that it constitutes a strong impetus to reactivate relations between the two countries.

(ST)