Business as usual at Bahrain mission in Damascus

Manama - Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said in a Twitter post that the kingdom had not broken off diplomatic ties with Syria.

Bahrain said on Friday that its embassy in Damascus and the Syrian diplomatic mission in Manama had been operating "without interruption", a day after the United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Syria, which is still suspended from the Arab League.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said in a Twitter post that the kingdom had not broken off diplomatic ties with Syria "despite difficult circumstances" - a reference to Syria's nearly eight-year-old civil war.
"Syria is a major Arab country in the region, we did not cut ties and it did not do so ... We stand with it in protecting its sovereignty and its territory from any violation," he tweeted.
It was unclear whether his words and an earlier foreign ministry statement meant the embassy had continued operating throughout the conflict, when most Gulf Arab states - including Saudi Arabia - broke off diplomatic ties.
"The Kingdom of Bahrain has announced that work is continuing at its embassy in the brotherly Arab Republic of Syria," the foreign ministry statement carried by state news agency BNA said.
The statement from Bahrain's foreign ministry said it was important that Arab states work to prevent any regional interference in Syria's internal affairs, to help consolidate security and stability in the country.
BNA also said flights had been operating between Bahrain and Syria without interruption, although again it did not say whether that had been the case throughout the war.

• Bahrain
• MENA