Attaf is the first Algerian official to visit Damascus since the Assad regime fell [APP/NurPhoto via Getty]
Syria’s Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf on Saturday, in the first official visit by an Algerian official to Damascus since the Assad regime’s collapse.
Al-Sharaa and his Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani received “a high-level delegation from the Republic of Algeria headed by Mr. Ahmed Attaf, Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria,” the Syrian presidency said on X.
No further details about the meeting were shared, but it comes amid a flurry of diplomatic visits to Damascus since Bashar al-Assad’s regime was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive in early December.
The Algerian foreign ministry said in a statement that Attaf handed Al-Sharaa a letter addressed to him by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, where he conveyed his “renewed congratulations” and hoped Al-Sharaa will carry out his duties “during this pivotal stage” in Syria’s history.
The ministry said that Attaf’s visit falls within the framework of “the historical relations between the two brotherly countries and peoples, with the aim of looking into ways to strengthen them and move them to the highest available ranks”.
“The visit also aims to renew Algeria’s solidarity and support for Syria during this delicate stage of its contemporary history,” the ministry added.
Attaf then headed to neighbouring Lebanon following his Syria trip.
Algeria had strong ties to Assad before he was ousted by rebels in December 2024. It also has close ties to Russia, which gave crucial backing to Assad’s regime during the Syrian conflict.
Algeria was eager on returning Assad to the Arab fold, having kept diplomatic ties to his regime throughout the war.
Syria is currently being run by an interim government dominated by former rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) for a “transitional period,” as Al-Sharaa seeks to unify the deeply divided and war-torn nation after more than 13 years of war.
A violent suppression of pro-democracy protests by Assad’s forces in 2011 spiralled into a multi-faceted conflict, which has seen the intervention of numerous regional and global powers as well as militant groups and extremists.
The war is believed to have killed over half a million people and displaced more than half of the country’s pre-war population.
Al-Sharaa has vowed that all armed factions will be dissolved and placed under state authority, and the constitution will be rewritten, as he has reiterated that all religious minority groups in Syria will be treated as equal citizens.
There have however, been cases of sectarian violence and sectarian-motivated killings, particularly in areas inhabited by Alawis, a religious sect to which Assad belongs.
Other religious or ethnic groups, including Kurds, Christians and Druze, have also voiced some concerns over their future in Syria.
