In January 2019, the Saudi foreign ministry denied a report that it would be immediately reopening its embassy in Damascus, following decisions by the UAE and Bahrain to reopen respective embassies there. In February 2019, it was reported that Russia was launching a focused lobbying effort on Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries to support the readmission of Syria to the Arab League, and that Saudi Arabia was seeking assurances that Russia would reduce Iranian political influence in Syria as a prerequisite for doing so. Since February 2019 Syrian state media has ceased criticism of Saudi Arabia, focusing instead on Qatar and Turkey as threats, while Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has avoided criticizing Syria in his speeches since his appointment in October 2019. In 2019, Saudi Arabia reportedly asked the WWE to remove Sami Zayn from the Super ShowDown event that took place in Saudi Arabia due to his Syrian ethnicity.