Tunisia’s new government shifts foreign policy
The Tunisian Foreign Ministry’s announcement that it would send a consul to Syria has been refuted by the president as the new government reconfigures Tunisia’s regional alliances.
TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche announced April 2 that a Syrian ambassador would be welcome in Tunis, and that Tunisia would establish a consular presence in Syria. The following day, President Beji Caid Essebsi cast doubt on the move during an interview with France 24, saying that he had not approved the decision. "Foreign policy is part of the presidential prerogatives and the ministry shall implement the strategy dictated by the presidency," Essebsi said.
The contradiction led to confusion over the nature of Tunisia’s relationship with the Syrian government. The Tunisian government did not respond to Al-Monitor’s requests for clarification.
Political analyst Youssef Cherif, however, said that Tunisia would send a consul to Damascus to handle bureaucratic procedures affecting Tunisian citizens in Syria. “It is my understanding that there will be … no Syrian ambassador anytime soon,” he said when asked about Baccouche’s statement. “That was wrong and discredited by Essebsi the following day.” Instead, the Syrian government may be allowed to establish a consular presence in Tunis, he added.
This is not Baccouche's first foreign policy announcement to be later refuted. On Feb. 22, he announced that Tunisia would establish two consulates in Libya to deal with the rival governments in the east and west of the country. The move was seen as an implicit recognition of the Libya Dawn-led government in Tripoli, which the international community considers illegitimate. Baccouche’s statement was later walked-back.
