From the humanitarian gate, Egypt moved towards raising the level of its relationship with Syria

In a development that opens a new chapter in Syrian-Egyptian relations, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, was a guest in Damascus, where he met with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Al-Miqdad, and President Bashar Al-Assad, in a visit that is the first of its kind for a high-ranking Egyptian diplomatic official to Syria. Since 2011. The visit, which Shoukry tried to humanize, by confirming more than once that he came to announce his country’s solidarity with Syria against the background of the devastating earthquake that struck the country on the sixth of last February, coincides with an Arab movement on several levels, in which both The UAE and the Sultanate of Oman played a prominent role in converging points of view and reaching a suitable formula for all parties through which Damascus would return to playing its strategic role, especially after the crisis reached a state of intractability resulting from the failure of all attempts to change the regime in Syria.

During his meeting with al-Assad, the Egyptian minister conveyed a message from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in which the latter affirmed Egypt's solidarity with Syria, its willingness to continue supporting the Syrians in facing the effects of the earthquake, his pride in the historical relations between the two countries, and Cairo's keenness to strengthen these relations and develop joint cooperation. Al-Assad responded by thanking the Egyptian guest, and expressing Syria's keenness on relations with Egypt "within the natural and historical context," considering that "work to improve relations between Arab countries on a bilateral basis is the basis for improving the Arab situation in general." The visit of Ras Haram, the Egyptian diplomat, to Damascus comes to revive historical ties between the two countries, after a rupture that began in 2011, and reached its climax during the assumption of the “Muslim Brotherhood” to rule Egypt under the leadership of the late Mohamed Morsi, who announced in June 2013 that his country had officially cut ties with Damascus. And joining the anti-Syrian government coalition, embracing the activity of a section of the Syrian opposition, and calling for an air embargo on Syria. Several Egyptian sources narrate that the position of the Egyptian army, which was led at that time by Sisi, who held the position of Minister of Defense at the time, remained opposed to Morsi’s position, which was confirmed by the late Egyptian writer, Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, during a television interview, during which he stated that the Egyptian army rejected the policy of The late president, but the latter continued it.

After the collapse of the “Brotherhood” government, and the rise of Sisi to power, relations partially restored between the two countries, which was explicitly announced by the Egyptian president during a visit he made shortly after assuming power to the United States in 2014, where he referred to the strength of the ties that unite the armies of the two countries, and stressed that the unity of Syria It is considered part of the Egyptian national security. However, the ties did not rise to high levels, but rather were limited to the scope of security meetings, before the meeting that brought together the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Al-Miqdad, with his Egyptian counterpart in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in 2021, which constituted a milestone. In addition to close security and military cooperation, Syrian investors who transferred their investments from Syria to Egypt during the war played a prominent role in strengthening relations between the two countries, after the volume of those investments amounted to about $23 billion.

Syria has expressed, many times, during statements made by Al-Assad and Al-Miqdad, its understanding of the position of some countries that communicate with Syria in private due to Western and American pressures. Big "opening" steps. However, these circumstances seem to have begun to transform during the past few months, in light of several Arab initiatives led by Jordan, the Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman to break the political stalemate. The catastrophic repercussions of the earthquake provided an opportunity to move forward and open the door for Egypt, whose president, immediately after the disaster, initiated contact. Assad, and instructed to send aid by air and sea. At a time when there is talk in some Arab political circles of the existence of Saudi-Egyptian differences that could have constituted an additional motive for Cairo to take its broad step towards Damascus, the Arab moves indicate that the Egyptian openness falls within the framework of a broad Arab activity that does not exclude Riyadh, which the minister announced. Its foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan, changed his country's position on Syria, stressing the need to communicate with Damascus, which he is expected to visit in the coming days.

Despite the continuous openness of Arab capitals to Damascus, whether before or after the earthquake, these steps face many obstacles and difficult tests, most notably the US position rejecting this normalization, and the threat of unilateral US sanctions imposed on Syria, in addition to Washington's possession of many pressure cards that may initiate use during the next period.