Italy says to appoint ambassador to Syria

Italy recalled all staff from its embassy in Damascus in 2012 and suspended diplomatic activity in Syria amid the war in the Arab country.

Stefano Ravagnan, currently the foreign ministry’s special envoy for Syria, was named as ambassador. He is due to take up his post shortly, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Reuters.

Italy and seven other EU states last week sent a letter to the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, asking the European Union to play a more active role in the country.

“Syrians continue to leave in large numbers, putting additional strain on neighbouring countries, in a period when tension in the area is running high, risking new refugee waves,” the letter seen by Reuters said.

Along with Italy, the letter was signed by Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia. It lamented “the humanitarian situation” in the country which had “further deteriorated” as its economy was “in shambles”.

“Borrell mandated the European External Action Service to study what can be done,” Tajani said on Friday, adding that naming a new ambassador was “in line with the letter we sent to Borrel … to turn the spotlight on Syria”.

At present six EU embassies are open in Damascus — Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Hungary. None of Italy’s Group of Seven partners — the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada, France or Germany — have reinstalled ambassadors to Syria.