Source: Syrian FM to visit Iraq soon, concerns over Al-Sharaa visiting Baghdad
Shafaq News/ Syrian Foreign Minister, Assaad Al-Shibani, is scheduled to visit Iraq next week, a political source revealed on Monday, while the planned visit of Syria's transitional president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, to Baghdad remains uncertain.
Since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's regime, official relations between Baghdad and Damascus have been stagnant, with no high-level diplomatic or political visits recorded. The only exception was the visit of Iraq's intelligence chief, Hamid Al-Shatri, to Damascus.
Iraq's official position on Syria's political transformation remains unclear, and despite the recent appointment of Ahmad Al-Sharaa as Syria's transitional president, Baghdad has yet to respond. Iraqi officials have stated that they are closely monitoring the situation before taking an official stance.
The Syrian political source told Shafaq News that while Al-Sharaa has been invited to visit Iraq, there has been no official response so far.
Concerns have been raised within Syria’s new administration, as they are eager for the visit, but fear the backlash from some Iraqi political leaders, especially considering reports of an arrest warrant against Al-Sharaa.
The source also confirmed that Syria's new leadership is under international protection, and any foreign visits, including to Iraq, will be conducted with the support of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye.
Iraqi Parliament Speaker, Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, expressed opposition to Al-Sharaa's visit, stating he preferred the president not come to Iraq to avoid upsetting Iraq's Shia population. He noted that he was uncertain why some Sunni groups were supportive of Al-Sharaa, possibly because of his sectarian background.
In related developments, a source from the Coordination Framework clarified that rumors of internal opposition within the group to the Iraqi government's invitation to Al-Sharaa for the upcoming Arab League summit were false, dismissing them as efforts to create confusion and disrupt the government's work.
Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fouad Hussein, confirmed earlier this week that he had extended an official invitation to Syrian Foreign Minister, Assaad Al-Shibani, to visit Baghdad soon. Hussein also stated that the upcoming Arab League summit, scheduled to take place in May, would include invitations to all Arab heads of state, including Al-Sharaa.
The Arab League responded positively to a request from Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani to host the upcoming summit, which was made during the May 2023 Riyadh summit.
Al-Sudani later announced that Iraq will host the 34th Arab League summit in 2025 after Syria relinquished its hosting rights in favor of Iraq.
Syria has been actively engaging in diplomatic efforts since the fall of Al-Assad's regime, with a steady influx of both Arab and international delegations visiting Damascus and engaging in discussions with the Arab world.
