Top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe arrived in the Saudi capital for a meeting on Sunday to discuss Syria as world powers push for stability after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
The talks on Sunday will unfold in two sessions: the first will bring together Arab officials while the second will feature wider participation including from Turkey, France, the European Union and the United Nations, a Saudi official told AFP on Saturday.
The gathering takes place as Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose forces seized Damascus and toppled longtime ruler al-Assad last month, is pushing for sanctions relief.
Western powers, including the United States and the European Union, slapped sanctions on al-Assad’s government over his brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011 that triggered civil war.
More than 13 years of conflict in Syria have killed more than half a million people, ravaged the economy, and pushed millions to flee their homes, including to Europe.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Friday that the 27-nation bloc could begin lifting sanctions if Syria’s new rulers took steps to form an inclusive government that protects minorities.
This month the Kingdom has sent food, shelter and medical supplies to Syria overland and by plane.
Riyadh is now negotiating how to support the war-struck country’s transition beyond that.
The meetings on Sunday represent a continuation of talks on post-al-Assad Syria held last month in Jordan, the Saudi official said.
The Turkish and German foreign ministers are among the officials who had confirmed their attendance as of Saturday evening.
US Under Secretary of State John Bass is also set to attend, coming from talks in Turkey that partly covered “the importance of regional stability, preventing Syria from being used as a base for terrorism, and ensuring the enduring defeat” of ISIS, the State Department said.
AFP, Al Arabiya
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