Syria top diplomat visits Egypt in first since war

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad in Cairo, a first since Syria’s civil war broke out over a decade ago, Shoukry’s office says.

The meeting comes amid amplified Arab engagement with the Damascus government which has been politically isolated in the region since the start of the Syria war and was expelled from the Cairo-based Arab League in 2011 over its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations.

Mekdad’s visit to Cairo is the “first in more than 10 years” for a Syrian top diplomat and sees a closed-door meeting between the two ministers followed by discussions between the two countries’ delegations, the Egyptian foreign ministry says.