Tunisian President Kais Saied said on Friday that he plans to restore diplomatic relations with Syria, more than a decade after Tunisia broke off relations with Damascus.

“Nothing can justify the absence of a Tunisian ambassador in Damascus and an ambassador from Syria in Tunis,” Saied said during a discussion with Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar that was broadcast on Friday night.

Saied previously mentioned his desire to “reinforce Tunisia’s diplomatic representation” in Syria in February.

Tunisia expelled Syria’s ambassador in 2012 echoing several Arab states which cut ties with Damascus over the foreign-backed war in Syria.

Saied, who took power in 2019, said on Friday that the “question of the regime in Syria concerns only the Syrians.”

Source: Agencies