The Syrian opposition has opened a new embassy in a villa in Doha on the heels of an Arab League summit that granted it legitimacy with a seat on its council.

“We are inaugurating the first embassy for the Syrian people, who have been deprived of their rights for 50 years,” opposition chief Moaz AlKhatib said during Wednesday’s ceremony, as ambassadors from the US, France and other countries saw the rebel flag raised on the building, QNA reports.

Qatar promised to give the opposition the keys to the Syrian embassy last month. But the old building remains shuttered, and a new one has been opened.

The Arab League also issued a resolution that “affirmed the right” of Arab member states to provide arms and other support to the rebels. 

According to the National:

Although Qatar and Saudi Arabia have reportedly been supplying elements of the opposition with arms for months, the resolution offered both legitimacy and a shroud of legal protection to member states. The measure won the backing of 18 of the 22 members without reservation, said Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.

Furious with the opposition’s diplomatic victories, Syria criticized Qatar for its role in the politics. 

“The emir of Qatar, the biggest bank for supporting terrorism in the region, began his presidency of the Arab League by hijacking it with tainted oil and money,” its state media said. 

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports that Russia and Iran, both supporters of Bashar Al Assad’s regime, scolded the Arab League for siding with the opposition.

Thoughts?

Credit: Top photo by Nora Basha on Twitter; second photo from QNA