Tunisia seeks thawing of diplomatic ties with Syria

Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs Taieb Baccouche called on Damascus Thursday to send a Syrian ambassador to Tunis, adding that the Tunisian consulate in Syria is to be reopened.

During a press conference, Baccouche said that Tunisians in Yemen are to be evacuated in the next few hours to avoid any danger in light of the current situation in that country.

At least 50 Tunisians are currently in Yemen and will be sent back home by a Tunisian flight, in collaboration with Saudi Arabia and Algeria, according to Baccouche.

These decisions were made following the deteriorated security situation in Yemen during the past week.

An Arab coalition headed by Saudi Arabia has been leading military operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

And one Tunisian consulate is to start functioning soon in Tripoli and another one in Benghazi, in order to guarantee the safety of Tunisians living on Libyan territories.

Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, former Tunisian governments and decision-makers chose to freeze all diplomatic relations with Syria.

In February 2012, Tunisia's former president Moncef Marzouki made the decision to expel Syria's ambassador and recalled its envoy from Damascus, to protest at the rising death toll of civilians in the first year of the Syrian uprising.

In a tit-for-tat move, Syria also asked Tunisia to close its embassy in Damascus. Endit