| October 2008 - News |
| October 2008 |
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Syria appoints ambassador to Iraq Syria has appointed its first ambassador to Iraq in almost 30 years following the swearing in of Nawaf al-Fares by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at a ceremony in Damascus on September 16. Fares had served as the governor of the south-western province of Qunaitra since 2002 and is a former secretary of the Syrian Ba’ath party in Deir ez-Zor. He comes from the Iraqi border town of Abu Kamal and belongs to the Ugaydat tribe which has strong connections to both Syria and Iraq. Given his tribal roots, Fares is expected to be able to exert influence over Iraq’s fighting ethnic factions. Damascus also wants to cement trade and oil deals with Baghdad and tackle a huge refugee problem. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who fled the violence in their country still live in Syria, too afraid to return home. In the past month, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE have also named ambassadors to Iraq. Syria severed ties with Iraq in 1982 - both under Ba’ath party rule at the time - following accusations that Saddam Hussein’s regime was providing assistance to the banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation. Syria’s support for Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war and the US-led alliance in the Gulf War following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait further strained relations between the two neighbours. “Syria is sending an ambassador now not only to strengthen the political process in Iraq but also to prepare for the future when the Americans leave,” Mohammad Kinen, Syrian political analyst on Iraqi affairs, said. Syrian-Iraqi ties have been on the mend since the downfall of Hussein. Iraq is expected to nominate an ambassador to Syria in the near future and a new Iraqi embassy is presently being built in Damascus near Abu Romaneh. |