Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime appoints ambassador to Saudi Arabia after 11 year hiatus

ANKARA

Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime on Wednesday appointed an ambassador to Saudi Arabia after an 11-year hiatus.

According to Syria's state-run news agency SANA, the country’s deputy foreign minister, Ayman Soussan, has been appointed as the ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Soussan was sworn in as ambassador during a ceremony attended by Saudi Foreign and Expatriates Minister Faysal Mikdad, said the news agency.

This would restore diplomatic relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, which had been severed since the outbreak of the Syrian war in early 2011, the country's North news agency reported.

During the recent summit hosted by Riyadh in late May, Saudi Arabia played a significant role in Syria's rejoining of the Arab League, it added.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul