Whether is is preparation for an attack on Iran or some other nefarious plan–the fact remains that the Saudi King in is Damascus for a specific purpose. The Jewish news agencies based out of Israel are reporting and hoping that the Saudi King will be able to buy-off the last remaining Arab state that belonged to the rejectionist front. Libya has already been bought off, and Iraq has been destroyed. The Suadi-Syrian thaw may bring back Damascus into the Arab fold and improve relations between Egypt and Syria too. Israel may agree to return the Golan Heights to Syria to try to isolate Iran. The Syrian president was in Tehran a month ago and the pressure on the alliance seems to be weathering the storm.
- Damascus, Syria – King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia arrived here Wednesday to mend fences with Syria and strengthen regional cooperation in a move that some hope could advance President Barack Obama’s Middle East peace plans.
- The two day visit by the king – his first since he took power in 2005 – will focus on unrest in Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, where political rivals backed by the two countries are wrangling over power. The Saudi monarch and close US ally is also seeking to nudge Syrian President Bashar al-Assad out of Iran’s diplomatic orbit toward closer cooperation with fellow Arab states
- After the Hariri assassination, always fragile Arab unity appeared to come apart at the seams, with close US allies Saudi Arabia and Egypt – nervous about Shiite Iran’s growing regional influence – at odds with Syria, which formed a self-proclaimed resistance alliance with Iran to oppose Israel and provide support to the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. In 2008, things were so bad that an Arab League summit in Damascus was boycotted by the Saudi and Egyptian leaders.
- But Syria’s ties with the West have been warming of late, thanks to the efforts of President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and Saudi Arabia has turned from a policy of isolation toward engagement. The Saudi and Syrian leaders met in Riyadh in March. Saudi Arabia restored its ambassador to Syria in August after an 18-month hiatus. And two weeks ago, Abdullah and Mr. Assad met in Jeddah. CS Monitor
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The king of Saudi Arabia will travel to Syria to try to weaken the Syria-Iran alliance, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Saudi officials told the paper that King Abdullah will press Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to loosen his country’s ties with Iran as well as build Arab consensus on other regional issues, including the formation of a new government in Lebanon and reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah.
The Wall Street Journal said Damascus is portraying the trip as a sign of the increased importance of Syria in the region. Relations between the Saudis and Syrians froze in 2005 after the assasination of Lebanese President Rafik Hariri, a friend of the Saudi royal family. Syria has been suspected of playing a role in the killing.
Ties have warmed in recent months, however, with the Saudis sending an ambassador back to Damascus after an 18-month vacancy. Saudi king aiming to split Syria-Iran alliance. October 7, 2009
Washington will be watching closely, says Andrew Tabler from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, hoping the visit will mark the beginning of a new regional balance.
“The Abdullah visit is significant symbolically in that it opens the door for Damascus to move away from an increasingly isolated Iran toward Washington’s Arab allies,” he says. “All of this will just be a photo shoot, however, if it doesn’t lead to progress on key issues, most notably the formation of a government in Lebanon and reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.”
The extent of Syria’s influence over Hamas is uncertain, and Syrian analysts caution against expecting too much from the trip.
One Damascus-based commentator, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, says divisions between the two sides remain deep. Moreover, he adds that without Egyptian participation there could be no real regional accord on key issues such as Palestine.
While there has been some talk that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak might join the Damascus summit, Egyptian-Syrian relations are poor, and such an appearance is considered unlikely.
And some Syrian analysts say that warmer relations with Saudi Arabia and the West don’t necessarily mean cooler ones with Tehran.
“Yes, the king is here, but the [Syrian] president was in Iran one month ago,” says Moubayed. He argues that Iran’s opponents should use Syria as gateway to the Iranian state, rather than seeking to break the relationship.CS Monitor. Fearful of Iran’s influence, Saudi king reaches out to Syria. Saudi Arabia, a close US ally, has switched from a policy of isolation toward engagement. Some hope the warming could bolster US Middle East peace efforts. By Julien Barnes-Dacey | Correspondent. from the October 7, 2009 edition
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