Syria reopens embassy in London after more than a decade

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BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s foreign minister officially reopened the country’s embassy in London on Thursday after more than a decade-long closure, the latest step in Syria's reintegration into the international community after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad.

The visit by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to the United Kingdom came after a historic visit to Washington by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the first by a president from Syria since the country’s independence in 1946.

Al-Shibani, speaking at an event held by the London-based Chatham House international affairs think tank, said that his meeting with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, was “successful.”

“Relations between Syria and Britain are advanced relations and we are not talking about opening a new page — we are talking about deepening these relations,” he said.

Following Assad’s fall, while some countries were initially wary of al-Sharaa’s past as an Islamist militant, he said that “the United Kingdom had a progressive position compared to other countries.”

“It removed sanctions early and opened relations with the new Syrian government quickly,” he said. “It supported us in the (U.N.) Security Council and also supported us in several thorny issues.”

While the new Syrian government has won broad support from countries that shunned Assad’s government after a brutal crackdown against protesters by his security forces in 2011 spiraled into a 14-year civil war, some have remained concerned about the situation of minorities in the new order.

Clashes broke out on Syria’s coast and in the southern province of Sweida in recent months and spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks, with Sunni pro-government gunmen killing hundreds of civilians from the Alawite and Druze religious minorities.

Al-Shibani said Thursday that about 300 people are currently imprisoned over their role in the violence on the coast and that the government has made an effort to recruit Alawites to serve in the local police forces.

“The mistakes or crimes that happened are certainly not accepted by the Syrian government,” he said.