Syria enjoyed an improvement in relations with several of the states in its region in the 21st century, prior to the Arab Spring and the Syrian civil war.
Other countries that presently maintain good relations with Syria include China, North Korea, Vietnam,[2][3] Fiji, Singapore, Sri Lanka,[4] Laos,[5] Myanmar,[6] Cambodia,[7] Thailand,[8] Philippines,[9] India,[10][11][12] Pakistan,[13] Bangladesh,[14] Malaysia,[15] Indonesia[16] Brunei,[17] Armenia,[18] Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,[19] Kyrgyzstan,[20] Uzbekistan,[8] Turkmenistan,[8] Mongolia,[21] Tajikistan,[22] Greece, Cyprus, North Macedonia,[23] Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary,[24] Serbia, Montenegro,[25] Vatican City and Belarus.
[30] On 26 February 2023, Bashar al-Assad met with Iraqi, Jordanian, Palestinian, Libyan, Egyptian and Emirati lawmakers, as well as representatives from Oman and Lebanon after more than a decade of isolation in the region.
This decision, prompted in part by Syria's need for Arab League support of its own position in Lebanon, marked the end of the Syrian-led opposition to Egypt and the 1977–79 Sadat initiatives toward Israel, as well as the Camp David Accords.
In this period, Syria continued to play an active pan-Arab role, which intensified as the Israel-Palestine peace process collapsed in September 2000 with the start of the second Palestinian uprising (Intifada) against Israel.
However, the Syrian government accepted UNSCR 1483 (after being absent for the actual vote), which lifted sanctions on Iraq and established a framework to assist the Iraqi people in determining their political future and rebuilding their economy.
The presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon dates to 1976, when President Hafez al-Assad intervened in the Lebanese civil war on behalf of Maronite Christians.
In 1989, Syria endorsed the Charter of National Reconciliation, or "Taif Accord", a comprehensive plan for ending the Lebanese conflict negotiated under the auspices of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco.
In May 1991, Lebanon and Syria signed the treaty of brotherhood, cooperation, and coordination called for in the Taif Accord, which is intended to provide the basis for many aspects of Syrian-Lebanese relations.
Israeli occupation of Lebanon until May 2000, the breakdown of peace negotiations between Syria and Israel that same year, and intensifying Arab/Israeli tensions since the start of the second Palestinian uprising in September 2000 have helped delay full implementation of the Taif Accords.
However, Lebanese resistance groups such as Hezbollah use it to justify attacks against Israeli forces in that region, creating a potentially dangerous flashpoint along the Lebanon-Israeli border.
On 19 December 2009, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri visited Syria, and stayed in Damascus for three days meeting with President Bashar Al-Assad & breaking the ice between the two sides.
Syrian–Turkish relations have long been strained even though Turkey shares its longest common border with Syria and various other geographic, cultural, and historical links tie the two neighboring states together.
This friction has been due to disputes including the self annexation of the Hatay Province to Turkey in 1939, water disputes resulting from the Southeastern Anatolia Project, and Syria's support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), but relations have improved greatly since October 1998; when PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan was expelled by Syrian authorities.
The issue that cemented the crack in the relations was Turkey's reported dealings with the Islamic State (an enemy of the Syrian government) in oil and weapons by various sources.
A video surfacing of the Islamic State being unopposed by Turkish security as they traveled across the border between Syria, questions more of Turkey's alleged role of simply fighting terrorism.
[361][363] In July 2024, Italy decided to re-establish relations with Syria, appoint its special envoy and chargé d'affaires to the country and reopen its embassy in Damascus.
Diplomatic relations have returned with Iraq, Saudi Arabia (in 2023), Egypt (after 3 July 2013), Tunisia, UAE (after 2018), Jordan (after 2021),[466] Lebanon (after 2021),[467][468][469] Algeria,[470][471] Mauritania (after 2018),[209] Bahrain (after 2018),[279] Kuwait (after 2018),[472] Libya,[473] Oman,[474][475][476][477] Comoros, Sudan (after 2018),[478] Yemen,[479] Somalia[190] and Palestine.
[484] In early April 2023, Saudi Arabia had invited Syria's Assad to the Arab League summit, ending regional isolation.
[338] On 15 April 2023, foreign ministers of GCC+3 format met in Jeddah and discussed the return of Syria to the regional organisation and so called Arab peace plan.
[486] On 18 April 2023, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan travelled to Damascus, met with Syrian President Assad and discussed further steps.
The changes to the relations between Syria and other Arab States would allow many of them to return to their homeland, according to the announcements made earlier by Jordanian and Saudi officials.