Tunisia's Kais Saied orders appointment of ambassador to Syria

North African nation severed ties with Damascus in 2012, with later resumption limited to basic consular services

Tunisian emergency responders load aid to Syrian and Turkish earthquake victims into military planes at L'Aouina airport on February 7. AFP

Tunisia will further raise its diplomatic representation in Syria and officially assign an ambassador to Damascus in the coming days, President Kais Saied told his Foreign Minister, Nabil Ammar, on Monday evening.

The decision comes after an initial boosting of Tunisia's diplomatic mission in Syria following the earthquake in February.

Since then Mr Saied spoke with President Bashar Al Assad on different occasions to express solidarity with the Syrian people.

Mr Ammar also exchanged at least two calls with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.

In his meeting with Mr Ammar, Mr Saied repeated Tunisia's adherence to its foreign policy principle of non-interference in other states' domestic affairs.

He said Tunisia's positions abroad stemmed from the will of its people at home.

Tunisia severed its diplomatic relations with Damascus in 2012, after the start of Syria's civil war, when Moncef Marzouki was president in Tunis.

In 2015, relations resumed but were limited to a consular representation office in Damascus to manage Tunisian affairs in Syria.