A group of senior member of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) met HTS “foreign minister” Asaad al-Shaibani, “defense minister” Murhaf Abu Qasra, and the HTS intelligence chief Anas Khattab upon landing in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. HTS leaders have asserted that a top goal for Syria’s new foreign policy is to convince neighbors such as Saudi Arabia that they are not a national security threat to them and, on the contrary, seek close diplomatic and economic ties.
Shaibani, the foreign minister, published a message marking his first trip abroad as Syria’s top diplomat on Wednesday, describing Saudi Arabia as a “sisterly” country. “Through this first visit in the history of Free Syria, we aspire to open a new, bright page in Syrian-Saudi relations that befits the long shared history between the two countries,” he wrote. (Read More)
