Too early to restore ties with Syria, says Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia ruled out reopening its embassy in Syria on Monday, saying it is too early to restore diplomatic ties with President Bashar al-Assad's government or reinstate Damascus to the Arab League without progress on a political process to end the eight-year-long war.

The comments were made by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who also said Saudi authorities would not take part in any reconstruction efforts before stability is restored in Syria.

"This (reopening the embassy) is related to progress on the political process, so it is still early," Jubeir told a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

In 2012, Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Damascus and pulled out its diplomats and staff.

Jubeir also said it was also too early for Syria to be reinstated to the Arab League. Syria's membership was suspended in 2011.

The Arab League has said such a move would require consensus among member states.

Recent months saw a gradual warming of relations between Syria and member states of the Arab League.

In December last year, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir became the first Arab leader to visit Damascus since the war in Syria began. The United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus in December in a diplomatic boost for Assad as the Gulf countries tries to re-engage and rebuild Arab influence in Syria.

(CGTN)