Syria Returns Yemeni Embassy in Damascus to Legitimate Gov’t

Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak (Saba News)
Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak (Saba News)
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Syria Returns Yemeni Embassy in Damascus to Legitimate Gov’t

Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak (Saba News)
Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak (Saba News)

The officially recognized Yemeni government has announced that it received an invitation from the Syrian government to reclaim its embassy in Damascus, following the eviction of the Houthi group’s representative from the premises.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian side informed the Yemeni government of the decision to hand over the Yemeni mission in Damascus to the legitimate Yemeni government on Wednesday.

Mubarak pointed out that his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, informed him of this action, and the Houthi group’s representative was asked to hand over the embassy building and leave.

According to the Yemeni minister, the government is in the process of appointing a diplomatic mission to begin its tasks in Damascus soon.

Observers predicted that a similar step could come from Tehran.

The Houthi group’s ambassador, Ibrahim al-Deilami, still maintains control over the Yemen embassy’s headquarters in Tehran, despite the legitimate Yemeni government’s opposition.

These developments come in the wake of Arab reconciliation efforts led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, starting with the recent historic Jeddah summit, attended by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which marked Syria's return to the Arab League after an approximately 12-year suspension.

Furthermore, the resumption of Saudi-Iranian relations in March had positive implications for various regional issues, notably the Yemeni crisis, according to observers.

Mubarak pointed out that these positive outcomes are the “result of meetings held with the Syrian side in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt,” emphasizing Yemen's support for all Arab reconciliation efforts, reunification, and the resolution of conflicts.

Yemeni political and media consultant, Lutfi Naaman, sees the Syrian move as the beginning of a “new chapter in the official relations between the two countries under regional agreements.”

“We are now waiting for the decision of the Iranian authorities,” Naaman told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Back in September 2014, the Houthi group, which took control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, had appointed diplomatic missions in both Tehran and Damascus.

This was met with opposition from the legitimate Yemeni government, which called on both countries to respect international diplomatic norms and conventions.

A senior member of the Houthi government appeared to confirm the news in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

While there has been no official statement from the Syrian government, sources in Damascus informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the decision to remove the Houthi presence is seen as an attempt to revive Syria’s rapprochement with Arab nations.



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)

Politicians in Beirut said they have not received any credible information about Washington resuming its mediation efforts towards reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon despite reports to the contrary.

Efforts came to a halt after US envoy Amos Hochstein’s last visit to Beirut three weeks ago.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed the reports as media fodder, saying nothing official has been received.

Lebanon is awaiting tangible proposals on which it can build its position, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The only credible proposal on the table is United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, whose articles must be implemented in full by Lebanon and Israel, “not just Lebanon alone,” he stressed.

Resolution 1701 was issued to end the 2006 July war between Hezbollah and Israel and calls for removing all weapons from southern Lebanon and that the only armed presence there be restricted to the army and UN peacekeepers.

Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri opposes one of the most important articles of the proposed solution to end the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

He is opposed to the German and British participation in the proposed mechanism to monitor the implementation of resolution 1701. The other participants are the United States and France.

Other sources said Berri is opposed to the mechanism itself since one is already available and it is embodied in the UN peacekeepers, whom the US and France can join.

The sources revealed that the solution to the conflict has a foreign and internal aspect. The foreign one includes Israel, the US and Russia and seeks guarantees that would prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. The second covers Lebanese guarantees on the implementation of resolution 1701.

Berri refused to comment on the media reports, but told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was the first time that discussions are being held about guarantees.

He added that “Israel is now in crisis because it has failed to achieve its military objectives, so it has resorted to more killing and destruction undeterred.”

He highlighted the “steadfastness of the UN peacekeepers in the South who have refused to leave their positions despite the repeated Israeli attacks.”