Syria’s National Dialogue, a pivotal moment in the country’s political transition after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, is central to shaping the nation’s future, paving the way for a new constitution.

Qatar has welcomed Qatar the Convening of the Syrian National Dialogue Conference as “an important step towards consensus, unity, and the establishment of a state of law and institutions”. 

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also emphasised that the decision regarding Syria’s future lies with the Syrians. 

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasises that the decision regarding Syria’s future lies in the hands of the Syrian people,” the MoFA said in a statement on Tuesday. 

Qatar had severed ties with the Assad regime in 2011 in response to its brutal crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests, which dragged the nation into a civil war that resulted in the world’s largest refugee crisis.

The Gulf state was the first to establish a diplomatic mission for the Syrian opposition in its capital, Doha. It later re-opened its embassy in Damascus in December 2024 for the first time since its closure in 2011.

There has been growing engagement between Qatar and Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, with high-level visits taking place between both countries.

Qatar has reiterated that it “reaffirms the importance of the state’s exclusive control over weapons and establishment of a professional national army to reinforce civil peace, security, and stability,” the ministry added in the statement. 

Syria’s National Dialogue, a pivotal moment in the country’s political transition after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, is central to shaping the nation’s future, paving the way for a new constitution.

Ahmed Al Shara, Syrian president stated that main goal is preserving the unity and sovereignty of Syria over all its territories

It also condemned the Israeli incursion into Syrian territories, considering it a blatant violation of the state’s sovereignty and demanding its immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

“Preserving the unity of the Syrian Arab Republic, its sovereignty over all its territories, and rejecting any form of fragmentation and division, or relinquishing any part of the homeland,” the final statement of the Syrian National Dialogue Conference stated. 

The closing statement also called for lifting international sanctions imposed on Syria, which have become a direct burden on the Syrian people.