Damascus: limited changes in the coming government

Consultations continue in Damascus over the expected cabinet reshuffle to merge the current government presided over by Prime Minister Mahmoud al-Zou'bi and several young Baathists and technocrats in the framework of "a change in the framework of continuity" or "gradual openness."

News reports in Damascus said the meeting of the party's regional leadership which was held on Thursday's evening lasted until midnight, adding that the average of reshuffle in this government will not be that "big or surprising."

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara made several changes, the most important of which is appointing three deputy foreign ministers. They are the former Syrian ambassadors to Washington, Walid al-Mu'allim, and to Kuwait, Mustafa al-Haj Ali, and the chairperson of the west Europe department at the Foreign Ministry Siba Nasser, besides ambassador Suleiman Haddad.