DOHA, December 24. /TASS/. Qatar has not acted as a mediator between Russia and the new Syrian authorities, but is ready for such a role, Majid bin Mohammed al-Ansari, an advisor to the prime minister and spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has told a news briefing.
"We don't have any special mediation as far as the situation in Syria is concerned. We continue to [maintain] relations with Russia. They are positive, as you know. We are involved in mediation between Russia and Ukraine over the repatriation of children affected by the war. However, to my knowledge, right now we do not have any special mediation between our friends in Russia and our brothers in Syria. Qatar has been and remains open to such a role," Al-Ansari said, when asked by TASS whether Qatar had been acting as a mediator between Russia and the new Syrian authorities after the meeting of foreign ministers of the countries guarantors of the Astana process held in Doha on December 7.
"As for the meeting on the Astana platform, as you know, it was held on the sidelines of the Doha Forum. In fact, it was arranged at the request of the Astana group’s ministers during their stay in Doha. We were happy to help their wish to hold the meeting materialize," the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman clarified. "At that time the situation on the ground in Syria was developing very fast and changed dramatically within 24 hours after the meeting. Qatar is always ready to serve as a platform for any interaction between the parties concerned," he emphasized.
On December 7, on the sidelines of the Doha forum, the Qatari capital hosted an Astana group meeting at the foreign minister level. It brought together Russian, Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov, Abbas Araghchi and Hakan Fidan. The talks took place against the backdrop of a sweeping offensive by opposition groups on the positions of the Syrian army. On December 8, they entered Damascus. President Bashar Assad resigned and left the country.
On December 21, Qatar's embassy in Damascus reopened 13 years after it was closed in 2011 due to the conflict in Syria. On December 10, al-Ansari said the reopening of the Qatari embassy in Damascus after the regime change was a "technical decision." At a news briefing at the emirate's Foreign Ministry, he noted that Qatar was the sole country where Syria's embassy was represented by the opposition, and after the regime change Doha became the first capital where the new Syrian authorities' diplomatic mission actually got down to work.