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Italy is thinking of reopening its embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus, the European country’s Foreign Minister revealed on January 11.
“We are working to assess if and when … Naturally it is very important that the situation in Syria heads towards a more normal outlook … Things on this front have not accelerated,” the ASNA news agency quoted Enzo Moavero Milanese as saying.
Milanese’s statement confirms several recent rumors which suggested that Italy will be leading the restoration of the Syrian-European relations. A new report by a Lebanese news website even claimed that the Italian embassy in Damascus is being renovated.
Three days ago, Syria’s Deputy-Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, said that many European countries are preparing to reopen their embassies in Damascus and revealed that several meeting were held to discuss this matter inside and outside of Syria.
“The European return to Syria will be unconditional, their situation doesn’t allow them to impose any conditions,” Peter Ford, a former ambassador of the UK to Syria, said on December 30.
Italy will likely wait for some positive development before restoring its relations with the Damascus government. The development could be the restoration of Syria’s seat in the Arab League or the formation of the Syrian constitutional committee.
