WSJ: Syria and Cairo are close to mending fences

Syria and Egypt are in advanced talks to restore diplomatic relations that were severed after the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad made his first official visit to Cairo in more than a decade, holding talks with Egypt’s top diplomat Sameh Shoukry. The two sides discussed “various aspects of bilateral cooperation and ways to strengthen brotherly relations” during the meeting. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry reported that the ministers agreed to intensify channels of communication between the two countries at different levels during the coming phase. The parties were also expected to discuss Syria’s possible return to the Arab League during the talks in Cairo. The mending of relations between Damascus and the rest of the Arab World has been spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates, which reopened its Syrian embassy in 2018 and has been visited by Assad twice over the past two years.