Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the reinstatement of diplomats who had defected from the former regime to the diplomatic corps on Monday, November 3.

In a statement, the ministry said Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani signed the decision returning the defected diplomats to service.

The decision was issued during al-Shaibani’s meeting with the diplomats at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Damascus (southern Syria). Photos on official accounts showed 19 diplomats present, while pages belonging to political figures and activists noted that two others were unable to attend.

During the meeting, the minister praised the diplomats’ stances and their efforts to expose the “crimes of the defunct regime,” valuing their alignment with the Syrian people and their support for its “just cause,” as he put it.

Al-Shaibani affirmed that Syria’s new foreign policy “is based on actions, not words,” adding that what the state pledged from the earliest days has been implemented “with steady steps and firm resolve,” according to the statement.

He said Syria seeks to build a state in which all citizens feel safe and a sense of belonging, based on genuine partnership and complementarity in its regional and international relations.

While the ministry did not publish the names of those reinstated, activists and politicians circulated the following 19 names:

• Basil Niyazi
• Maher al-Jammaz
• Khaled al-Ayoubi
• Khaled Al Saleh
• Hussein Sabbagh
• Dani Ba’aj
• Hosam Hafez
• Ahmad al-Hariri
• Ayham Uday
• Mahmoud Obaid
• Lamia al-Hariri
• Yahya Diab
• Ayham Ghazzy
• Fadel al-Rifai
• Ahmad Shibib
• Bashar Alhaj Ali
• Rashid Yahya
• Emad al-Ahmar
• Lama al-Ahmad

A new diplomatic landscape

The Syrian Foreign Ministry is working to reshape the country’s diplomatic scene by rotating out cadres closely associated with the former regime, including the former ambassador to Moscow, Bashar al-Jaafari, the former ambassador to Riyadh, Ayman Soussan, and Syria’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Qusay al-Dahhak.

On April 8, Foreign Minister al-Shaibani announced the start of restructuring Syrian embassies and diplomatic missions abroad at the direction of Syria’s transitional president, Ahmad al-Sharaa.

He attributed the move to the need to achieve a “dignified” representation of Syria and provide outstanding services to Syrians abroad.

The announcement came after the Foreign Ministry decided to transfer Syria’s ambassadors in Russia and Saudi Arabia back to the central administration in Damascus. According to the same source, embassy affairs in Moscow and Riyadh will be handled by chargés d’affaires until the president issues formal appointments naming replacements in the coming period.

Reinstating defected officers

Earlier, Interior Minister Anas Khattab announced the completion of the committee’s work, formed after a broad meeting with officers who had defected from the former regime in September. The committee interviewed officers in preparation for their return to service within the ministry.

According to the minister, the Interior Ministry interviewed more than 260 law officers who are inside Syria and ready to rejoin their jobs.

At the Ministry of Defense, more than 2,000 defected officers are now serving in the new Syrian army out of 3,500 interviewed, according to a ministry statement to Enab Baladi.

Military affairs researcher Rasheed Hourani told Enab Baladi in a previous file that 85 percent of defected officers have been assigned to administrations and military units that match their specialties, with roles focused on organization and training.

Since the fall of the former regime, various ministries have been gradually reinstating employees who were dismissed for political reasons related to opposing the previous authorities.