The Saudi leadership expressed support for the new Syrian authorities and confirmed its readiness to help rebuild the country, the Foreign Minister of the Syrian transitional government, Asad Hassan al-Shibani, announced after his first foreign visit to Riyadh since his appointment.
“Saudi Arabia expressed support for the Syrian people and the new Syrian administration and confirmed its readiness to participate in the revival of Syria and support its unity and territorial integrity“, al-Shibani said in a statement published in X .
The Foreign Minister said that the Syrian delegation, for its part, during the visit expressed its commitment “Syria to play a positive role in the region and to develop joint policies with Arab countries aimed at maintaining security and stability and ensuring prosperity.
On the evening of January 1, a delegation from the Syrian transitional government arrived in Riyadh on its first foreign visit since the change of power in Damascus. On January 2, the Minister of Defense in the new Syrian administration, Murhaf Abu Kasra, the head of the General Intelligence Service, Anas Hassan Khattab, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, al-Shibani, met with the head of the Saudi Ministry of Defense, Prince Khaled bin Salman Al Saud.
At the end of November 2024, armed opposition groups launched a large-scale offensive against the positions of the Syrian army. On December 8 of the same year, they entered Damascus, Bashar al-Assad resigned as president of Syria and left the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who headed the so-called Salvation Government in Idlib province, announced his appointment as head of the Syrian cabinet for the transitional period, which will last until March 1, 2025.