Saudi Arabia and Syria's foreign ministers on Wednesday welcomed the start of procedures to resume consular services and flights between the two countries.
The kingdom and Syria agree on the importance of resolving humanitarian difficulties and creating the necessary conditions for the return of Syrian refugees and displaced people to their homeland, state news reported.
Saudi Arabia and Damascus have agreed to support the institutions of the Syrian state, to end the presence of armed militias there, and the external interference in any internal affairs.
The two sides discussed steps needed to achieve a comprehensive political settlement to the Syrian crisis that will also contribute to the return of Syria to the Arab League.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad thanked Saudi Arabia for its efforts to end the crisis and for providing humanitarian aid to victims of the recent earthquakes.
In a joint statement at the end of the talks between the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Mr Mekdad, both countries agreed on the importance of resolving humanitarian difficulties and providing a suitable environment for aid to reach all parts of Syria.
Prince Faisal received a call from UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen on Wednesday. They discussed ways to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
Saudi Arabia plans to invite Syrian President Bashar Al Assad to the Arab League summit in Riyadh on May 19, Reuters said.
Mr Mekdad arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday at the invitation Prince Faisal, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said, on the first such trip since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
Saudi Arabia is preparing to host a meeting of regional foreign ministers on Friday to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League. The country was suspended from the 22-member group in 2011.
Ministers from the GCC countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — as well as Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, have been invited to meet in Jeddah on Friday, said Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al Ansari.
