Syria’s foreign policy is Syria ’s general course in international affairs . Foreign policy regulates Syria’s relations with other states. This policy is implemented by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs .
History
In the 1980s, Syria’s foreign policy with its superpowers and its Middle Eastern neighbors, as well as its domestic policy, was influenced by the Arab-Israeli conflict . In 1979, Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel , in 1994, Jordan concluded a peace agreement with Israel, and Israeli troops were stationed in southern Lebanon , making Syria the last enemy of Israel with a common border. According to the Syrian authorities, the Arab-Israeli conflict ceased to exist, giving way to the bilateral Israeli-Syrian conflict.
Attempts to restore sovereignty over the Golan Heights , which from 1944 to 1967 were part of the Syrian province of Quneitra and the western two thirds of which were captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in June 1967, are an important direction of Syria’s foreign policy. Therefore, the Syrian authorities sought to prevent Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Lebanon from concluding peace treaties with Israel and form an anti-Syrian coalition. Syria divided the Arab world into two camps: its allies and those who made concessions to Israel. Syria’s partners in the confrontation with Israel were: Libya , Algeria and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen).
In 1989, Syria restored full diplomatic relations with Egypt. Syria has a difficult relationship with neighboring Turkey, while Iran is an ally of that country. In 1991, during the “Storm in the Desert” military operation, Syria joined the multinational coalition led by the United States against Iraq . In 1998, Syria began to slowly build relations with Iraq, mainly due to economic needs. Also, the Syrian authorities have tried to maintain good relations with Russia and China . In 2005, Syrian troops left Lebanon. In mid-2011, a civil war broke out in Syria, after which relations with the main economic partner of this country, the European Union , deteriorated sharply. Venezuela provided political support for Syrian President Bashar Assad , but trade between the countries remained low.