Tunisia decides to appoint envoy in Syria

TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisia has decided to appoint a new ambassador to Syria.

In a statement, the Tunisian presidency said on Monday that President Kais Saied has decided to "initiate procedures for appointing an ambassador of Tunisia in Damascus."

It stressed the “necessity of adhering to the principles of the foreign policy of the Tunisian diplomacy” and said that the country’s “positions abroad stem from the will of its people."

Tunisia severed diplomatic ties with Damascus on Feb. 4, 2012 after the start of the Syrian civil war.

However, in July 2014, Tunisia opened an office for administrative and consular services for the benefit of the Tunisian community in Syria.

This February, Saied decided to raise the level of Tunisian diplomatic representation in Damascus and said: "The issue of the Syrian regime is an internal matter that concerns only the Syrians and the ambassador is appointed to the state, not the regime."

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat