Tunisia and the Syrian regime renewed their desire for the return of bilateral relations to what they described as their normal path, by raising the level of diplomatic representation and exchanging visits by officials of the two countries.
This came in a phone call that Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar received from his counterpart in the Syrian regime, Faisal Mekdad, according to a statement by the Tunisian Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry said that the conversation "represented an occasion in which the two ministers renewed the desire to return the fraternal bilateral relations between Tunisia and Syria to their normal course, especially through raising the level of diplomatic representation and exchanging visits by officials of the two countries."
According to the statement, "Al-Miqdad praised Tunisia for standing with Syria during the recent earthquake that struck its north."
In turn, the Syrian regime news agency (SANA) said that Al-Miqdad appreciated, during the call, the desire of Tunisian President Kais Saied to raise the level of diplomatic representation between the two countries.
She also indicated that the two ministers agreed to follow up on strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries and to conduct mutual visits in the coming period.
On February 9, the Tunisian presidency said in a statement that President Kais Saied decided to raise the level of diplomatic representation in Syria, reaffirming his country's support for Damascus.
It is noteworthy that Tunisia severed diplomatic relations with Syria more than 10 years ago, in protest at the time, against what it described as "the suppression of protests against it by the Bashar al-Assad regime."
In February 2012, former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki announced, in a statement, the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador at the time, and the withdrawal of any recognition of the Assad regime.
After that, Tunisia returned a limited diplomatic mission in 2017, and at the end of 2018, air traffic between the two countries resumed.