"Sputnik": Saudi Foreign Minister visits Damascus after Eid al-Fitr as a "likely date"

Informed Syrian sources revealed the "likely date" of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan's visit to Damascus.

The sources said in statements with the Russian "Sputnik" on Friday, that meetings between delegations from Saudi Arabia and Syria have been taking place for about a year.

According to Syrian sources, the scheduled date (on which arrangements are being made) for the visit of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to Damascus will be after Eid al-Fitr, "without specifying the exact date of the visit," while the sources suggested that consulates will open during the current month of Ramadan, after the completion of the necessary arrangements.

According to the sources, the meetings that took place were at the diplomatic, military and intelligence levels, where Syrian delegations visited Riyadh, and Saudi delegations arrived in Damascus.

Asked whether there were upcoming visits by President Bashar al-Assad to Riyadh, or by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Damascus, the sources said: "Everything is possible. Things are accelerating, and there are fraternal understandings."

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said in remarks last month that "a consensus is beginning to form in the Arab world that there is no point in isolating Syria, and that dialogue with Damascus is needed at some point."

In November 2011, Arab foreign ministers decided to suspend Syria's membership in the Arab League until it implemented the Arab plan to resolve the Syrian crisis, and called for the withdrawal of Arab ambassadors from Damascus.