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 Syria |  United Kingdom |
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Since the Syrian civil war, the United Kingdom has supported the Syrian opposition. [1] The United Kingdom closed its embassy in Syria in 2011, and the Embassy of Syria, London was closed the following year. [2]
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Syria | United Kingdom |
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Since the Syrian civil war, the United Kingdom has supported the Syrian opposition. [1] The United Kingdom closed its embassy in Syria in 2011, and the Embassy of Syria, London was closed the following year. [2]
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On 6 November 1956, during the Suez Crisis, a Royal Air Force Canberra PR.7 was sent to overfly Syria on a photo reconnaissance mission, and was shot down by a Syrian Air Force Gloster Meteor. As of 2022, this was the last RAF aircraft shot down in an enemy air-to-air engagement. [4] [5]
In 2001, positive relations were developed between Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Syrian government, as part of the War on Terror. [6]
In 2002, President Bashar al-Assad made an official visit to the United Kingdom, the first Syrian leader to do so. [7] He and his wife Asma met with Queen Elizabeth II. [8]
In 2003, the British Syrian Society was established in London by Fawaz Akhras, father-in-law of Bashar al-Assad. [9]
Since the 2011 civil war, relations have deteriorated, and the UK was one of the first countries to recognise the opposition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. [1]
The Embassy of Syria in London closed in 2013.
In 2018, the UK took part in the missile strikes against Syria alongside the United States and France. [10]
In March 2021, the British Government placed sanctions on key allies of Assad. [11]
Ensuring national security, increasing influence among its Arab neighbours and securing the return of the Golan Heights, have been the primary goals of the Syrian Arab Republic's foreign policy. At many points in its history, Syria has seen tension with its neighbours, such as Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon. Syria enjoyed an improvement in relations with several of the states in its region in the 21st century, prior to the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War.
Bashar al-Assad is a Syrian politician who is the current and 19th president of Syria since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which nominally espouses a neo-Ba'athist ideology. His father and predecessor was General Hafiz al-Assad, whose presidency in 1971–2000 marked the transfiguration of Syria from a republican state into a de facto dynastic dictatorship tightly controlled by an Alawite-dominated elite composed of the armed forces and the Mukhabarat, who are loyal to the al-Assad family.
Adel Al-Jubeir is a Saudi diplomat who is the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. He is the second person not belonging to the House of Saud to hold the office, after Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al Suwaiyel. He previously served as the Saudi Ambassador to the United States from 2007 to 2015, and was also a foreign policy advisor to King Abdullah.
Maher al-Assad is a Syrian general and commander of the Syrian Army's elite 4th Armoured Division, which together with Syria's Military Intelligence form the core of the country's security forces. He is also a member of the Central Committee of the Ba'ath Party's Syrian Regional Branch.
Asma Fawaz al-Assad is the First Lady of Syria. Born and raised in London to Syrian parents, she is married to the 19th and current President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad.
Diplomatic relations between Syria and the United States are currently non-existent; they were suspended in 2012 after the onset of the Syrian Civil War. Priority issues between the two states include the Arab–Israeli conflict, the Golan Heights annexation, Iraq War, alleged state-sponsorship of terrorism, occupation of Lebanon, etc.
Russia–Syria relations are the bilateral relations between Russia and Syria. Russia has an embassy in Damascus and Syria has an embassy in Moscow. Russia enjoys a historically strong, stable, and friendly relationship with Syria, as it did until the Arab Spring with most of the Arab countries. Russia's only Mediterranean naval base for its Black Sea Fleet is located in the Syrian port of Tartus.
Pakistan–Syria relations are the historic, international, and bilateral relations between Syria and Pakistan. Syria has an embassy in Islamabad. Pakistan is represented in Syria through its embassy in Damascus. Through the ancient civilization exchange, areas of modern Pakistan were part of the silk route with the Syria and for centuries, Syrian Islamic missionaries that introduced Islam in the parts of now integrated in Pakistan after 711 AD were from Syria.
Croatia–Syria relations are bilateral relations between Croatia and the Syrian Arab Republic. Both countries established diplomatic relations on 29 August 1997. Croatia is represented in Syria through its embassy in Cairo in Egypt and an honorary consulate in Damascus. Syria is represented in Croatia through its embassy in Budapest, Hungary and an honorary consulate in Zagreb. Both countries are full members of the Union for the Mediterranean, although Syria suspended its membership in 2011.
Turkey–Syria relations are the relations between Turkey and the Syrian Arab Republic. Turkey shares its longest common border with Syria; various geographic and historical links also tie the two neighbouring countries together.
Syria–United Arab Emirates relations refer to the relationship between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Syrian Arab Republic. The UAE has an embassy in Damascus and Syria has an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate-general in Dubai. Both countries are members of the Arab League, part of the Middle East region and share close cultural ties.
International reactions to the Syrian civil war ranged from support for the government to calls for the government to dissolve. The Arab League, United Nations and Western governments in 2011 quickly condemned the Syrian government's response to the protests which later evolved into the Syrian civil war as overly heavy-handed and violent. Many Middle Eastern governments initially expressed support for the government and its "security measures", but as the death toll mounted, especially in Hama, they switched to a more balanced approach, criticizing violence from both government and protesters. Russia and China vetoed two attempts at United Nations Security Council sanctions against the Syrian government.
International demonstrations and protests relating to the Syrian Civil War have taken place outside Syria during the war.
Russia has supported the administration of incumbent President Bashar al-Assad of Syria since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011: politically, with military aid, and with direct military involvement. The 2015 deployment to Syria marked the first time since the end of the Cold War in 1991 that Russia entered an armed conflict outside the borders of the former Soviet Union.
Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war refers to political, military and operational support to parties involved in the ongoing conflict in Syria that began in March 2011, as well as active foreign involvement. Most parties involved in the war in Syria receive various types of support from foreign countries and entities based outside Syria. The ongoing conflict in Syria is widely described as a series of overlapping proxy wars between the regional and world powers, primarily between the United States and Russia as well as between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia–Syria relations refer to bilateral and economic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Syrian Arab Republic. Diplomatic ties between these two countries of the Middle East have long been strained by the major events in the region. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Damascus, and Syria has an embassy in Riyadh. Both countries are members of the Arab League and share close cultural ties.
Oman–Syria relations refer to the relationship between the Sultanate of Oman and the Syrian Arab Republic. Oman has an embassy in Damascus; while Syria has an embassy in Muscat. Both are members of the Arab League, and despite the ongoing civil war occurring in Syria, Oman has not closed its embassy in Syria and both countries maintain diplomatic relations, in sharp contrast to other Arab states of the Persian Gulf who have cut off diplomatic ties with Syria and closed their embassies.
France–Syria relations refers to the bilateral relations between France and the Syrian Arab Republic. Relations between France and Syria have a long and complex history. The contemporary relationship largely dates back to the French mandate (1923–1946) over the region established in the midst of the defeat and subsequent Partition of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I.
Presidential elections were held in Syria on 26 May 2021, with expatriates able to vote in some embassies abroad on 20 May. The three candidates were incumbent president Bashar al-Assad, Mahmoud Ahmad Marei and Abdullah Sallum Abdullah. The elections were considered not to be free and fair. The United Nations condemned the elections as an illegitimate process with "no mandate"; accusing the Ba'athist regime of undermining UN Resolution 2254 and for obstructing the UN-backed political solution that calls for a "free and fair elections" under international monitoring.
Germany–Syria relations are the bilateral relations between Germany and Syria. Germany closed its Damascus embassy and stopped its recognition of Bashar al-Assad in 2012 because of the Syrian civil war, but has never completely cut relations with the Syrian government.
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