Egyptian foreign minister arrives in Damascus

 The Egyptian foreign minister has arrived in Damascus, the capital of Syria, marking the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Syria since its civil war began in 2011.

Sameh Shoukry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, arrived in Damascus on Monday. He was received at Damascus airport by Faisal Mekdad, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Syria. 

According to the Syrian state news agency (SANA), the two ministers talked with each other. A tweet by Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesperson also confirmed that the Egyptian minister arrived in Syria. 

An Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement that the Egyptian minister would “convey a message of solidarity from Egypt” during his visits to Syria and Turkey. 

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah El-Sisi called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the first time on February 7. He gave his condolences to the Syrian President. On Sunday, Egypt’s parliament speaker met Assad in Damascus. 

Following the destructive earthquake on February 6, Arab leaders started offering support to Syrians. The foreign minister of Jordan also visited Damascus for the first time since the civil war began in Syria. Saudi Arabia sent relief aid to earthquake-hit areas in Turkey and Syria in order to help earthquake victims. Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also directed KSrelief to operate an air bridge in order to transfer relief aid to earthquake survivors. 

The destructive earthquake on February 6 killed at least 5,900 people in Syria. Many people were also injured. 

Reportedly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, also urged the United States to lift its sanctions on Syria in order to provide relief aid to Syrians. Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations, also demanded help for people in northwest Syria.