Austria Considering Possibility Of Reopening Embassy In Damascus - Foreign Minister

Austria is considering the possibility of reopening of its embassy in Damascus, Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th March, 2019) Austria is considering the possibility of reopening of its embassy in Damascus, Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said on Thursday.

"The reopening of the embassy is an important step, though now we have the ambassador in Lebanon, who sometimes travels to Damascus. We think about that [reopening of the embassy] but everything depends on political conditions in Damascus," Kneissl said at a press conference.

The minister added that Austria expects Syrian President Bashar Assad to take action in relations to prisoners, in particular women, as well as over respect for human rights.

Soon after the beginning of the civil war in Syria back in 2011, dozens of countries closed their embassies in Damascus, with some of them temporarily withdrawn to Beirut. In December 2018, the United Arab Emirates became the first Gulf country to reopen its embassy in the Syrian capital. Immediately afterward, Bahrain announced that it would restore its diplomatic mission in Damascus.