Tunisia and Syria have agreed to restore diplomatic ties amid a wider regional detente, DW reports. Tunisia is the latest country in the region to restore ties with the Assad regime, following Oman, which did so earlier this year, and the UAE, which resumed diplomatic ties in 2018. Syria will appoint an ambassador at a reopened diplomatic mission in Tunisia, according to a joint statement picked up by DW.

Not everyone is on the normalization boat, however, the Financial Times reports. Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan, have pushed back, saying that Bashar Al Assad has done nothing to redeem himself, according to the FT. The opposition camp is also frustrated with the Assad regime for allegedly providing a gateway for the trade of narcotics in the region. The US is also opposed to a normalization of ties between Syria and its fellow Arab states, Al Arabiya reported, citing statements made by White House spokesperson.

Qatar and Bahrain have also agreed to restore diplomatic relations, according to a statement from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The countries are taking this step as a precursor to developing bilateral trade, the statement said. Bahrain follows moves from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE to normalize relations with Qatar.

Egypt and Turkey will soon reappoint ambassadors and formally reestablish diplomatic ties following a decade of hostilities, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a presser in Ankara Thursday with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry (watch, runtime: 6:40). Following their third round of talks in as many months, the two diplomats agreed to collaborate on developing and strengthening a combined military force in Libya, as well as developing a timeline for holding elections in the country, easing a key source of tensions between the two rivals.

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