Middle East
In this photo released by the official Syrian state news agency SANA, Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, right, receives Syrian President Bashar Assad in the capital Muscat, Oman, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. Photo: SANA/AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Oman on Monday in his first trip outside of the country since the devastating earthquake, showing signs of an end to his isolation by Gulf nations.
Assad’s visit to meet with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tareq came two weeks after a devastating earthquake killed over 46,000 people in Turkey and Syria, causing significant destruction and loss in the already war-torn country.
The quake on February 6 prompted nations across the Arab world to extend a helping hand to the Syria, which was expelled from the Arab League when civil war broke out in 2011, showing signs of an ease in the isolation of the Assad regime.
Oman has been one of the few countries that maintained normal ties without severing diplomatic ties with Syria over the past decade.
A statement by Muscat’s foreign ministry said that the Sultan received Assad at the royal palace for “official talks”, the first since 2011.
Oman’s ruler “renewed his sympathy and condolences to the guest and the Syrian brotherly people,” the statement added.
Assad praised Muscat’s “balanced policies” over time, referring to the country’s stance with regards to Syria.
Over the years, Oman has played a strategic role as a key mediator in the region, particularly between the United States and Iran, as well as between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Assad’s trip to Oman marks his second to an Arab state since the outbreak of war, with the first being to the United Arab Emirates last year.
The earthquake has provided the Syrian regime with an opportunity of normalization within the Arab world, with numerous states rushing to offer aid.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Saturday that a consensus was emerging among Arab states that an end to Syria’s isolation and return to dialogue is needed in order to address the pending humanitarian issues.
"You will see not just among the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) but in the Arab world there is a consensus growing that the status quo is not workable," Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at the Munich Security Conference.
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