The visit by Turkey's top diplomat aimed to strengthen regional cooperation on Syria and enhance defense ties between Ankara and Riyadh.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday from Damascus that his country was engaged in an active dialogue with Europe and the U.S. to help lift economic sanctions imposed on Syria.

Saudi Arabia sent a new aid plane to Syria on Saturday as part of the kingdom’s relief bridge to the country following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. The Syrian state news agency SANA said a plane loaded with 30 tons of relief materials arrived at Damascus International Airport.

Saudi Arabia is taking part in talks with western powers to help remove sanctions against Syria, the kingdom's Foreign Minister said on Friday as he made his first visit to Damascus since the fall of former president Bashar Al Assad.

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, according to diplomatic sources. Fidan is expected to highlight the growing strength of political relations between the two countries in his discussions and express the goal of further boosting the rapidly expanding trade volume with Saudi Arabia.

Syria is the main source of Captagon shipments to the Gulf and the new authorities in the country have pledged to crack down on the trade.

With little notice and no fanfare, although the New York Times mentioned it the other day, the Gulf Arab states have withdrawn from significant participation in the war in Syria....

Attempts to reintegrate Syria into the international community come as Damascus negotiates on bringing the northeast back into the fold.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said on Wednesday that the country will open its economy to foreign investment and that Damascus is also working on energy and electricity partnerships with Gulf states.

During a press conference Friday with his Syrian counterpart, bin Farhan said Saudi Arabia was standing by Syria, pointing to "the importance of accelerating the lifting and freezing of all sanctions".

Saudi Arabia's top diplomat landed in Syria on Friday, an AFP correspondent reported, in his first visit to Damascus since Islamist-led rebels ousted president Bashar al-Assad last month.