News Analysis: Western delegations' visits to Syria to break political isolation

Visits by foreign delegations to Syria recently could indicate that the West is willing to break, even on a low profile, the isolation against the country since the war there broke out nearly four years ago, according to local political analysts.

Over the past week, a French delegation comprising a number of lawmakers visited Damascus and held meetings with President Bashar al-Assad and other high-ranking officials, marking the first visit by a French delegation to Syria since the closure of the French embassy in the country in 2012.

Their talks focused on the need for cooperation between the two countries on various issues. The French Foreign Ministry, however, allied itself from the visit, saying the lawmakers' visit did not represent France.

In the same week, U.S. delegation of the International Interference Center, headed by former Justice Minister Ramzi Clark, visited the Syrian capital and met with officials. The American delegation also visited wounded Syrian soldiers at a military hospital in Damascus.

On Monday, a Turkish delegation of opposition politicians arrived in the capital and met with Assad, expressing dismay over Ankara's policies on Syrian crisis.

Syrian political analysts said that such visits aim to break the ice and the diplomatic isolation against the Syrian government since the crisis erupted nearly four years ago.

They said that there are many voices in Europe and the United States to reconnect with Assad and his government to achieve a real win against radical groups which are mushrooming across the region and elsewhere in the world.

Hmaidi Abdullah, a political researcher, read the visits as "a form of change in the political stances toward Syria," saying that the visit by the French lawmakers reflects the different points of views inside France regarding the Syrian crisis.

He singled out the significance of the French visit, saying the mixed reactions inside France toward the visit are even more important than the visit itself, because it evidenced voices inside France that disagree with the general policies adopted by the French government toward the Syrian leadership under Assad.

"The division inside France stresses once again that the policies of the French government toward Syria are wrong and thus France should review its policies and be opened to the Syrian government once again," he said.

Hmaidi believed that many European countries have become more prepared to re-establish relations with Damascus, predicting that other Western delegations will also come to visit Syria in the near future.

On Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem also mentioned a "political and public movement in many Western countries to restore the relations with Syria." He noted that such shift is a "positive indication" that reflects "a real understanding of what is going on in Syria."

Meanwhile, Hayan Salman, deputy minister of economy and foreign trade, told Xinhua that those visits are a "step in the right direction."

"Syria has become a destination of foreign delegations, especially from countries that had declared the enmity to Syria in the start," he said. "Western countries have started to search for the truth after watching the atrocities committed by the terrorist groups in Syria."

For his part, Mahmour Muri, a Syrian opposition figure, also hailed the foreign visits as a "positive step," saying the foreign countries made a mistake when closing their embassies in Syria at the start of the crisis.

He said the foreign delegations were in Syria to "exchange information" on terrorism, in particular the Islamic State and al-Qaida, which is "positive and could pave the way for the re-opening of foreign embassies in Damascus." Endit