Mahmoud Barakat
14 January 2019•Update: 15 January 2019
RIYADH
Saudi Arabia on Monday denied reports that it planned to reopen its embassy in capital Damascus.
Some news websites had quoted Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf as saying that Riyadh intended to reopen its Damascus embassy on Thursday.
"These statements are totally incorrect," the Saudi Foreign Ministry asserted in a Monday statement.
Last month, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain -- both of which had supported Syria’s armed opposition -- announced plans to reopen their respective embassies in Damascus following a seven-year hiatus.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.
