According to numerous reports in the Israeli media, the resumption of ties and normal relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria has caused a state of discontent, severe anxiety and even dismay among the Israeli leadership. These troubles, as noted by the Israeli newspaper World Israel News, have added to the problems that have suddenly presented themselves in all their glory to Tel Aviv of late. Saudi Arabia’s moves to fully restore diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Riyadh’s cease-fire efforts in Yemen are also a major concern for Israel and the United States, which is rapidly losing influence in that part of the world. According to US media, in this regard, dissatisfaction with the policy of Joe Biden’s administration was also expressed by American arms manufacturers, which began to lose a very promising and rich Middle Eastern market.
The Israeli Kan TV channel assessed the change in Saudi policy toward Syria, Iran and the Palestinian resistance movement: “When we compare all the points of view regarding Riyadh’s reconciliation with Iran and rapprochement with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Sanaa, this, from our perspective, from the Israeli perspective, is definitely a cause for deep concern.” The channel called the visit of Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud to Damascus “historic,” saying it was the first visit since the start of the war in Syria 12 years ago.
It should be recalled that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks with the Saudi foreign minister at the presidential palace. A statement from the Syrian government said that President Assad assured the Saudi foreign minister that “a healthy relationship between Syria and the Kingdom is a normal state, and also reflects Arab and regional interests.” He also quoted the Saudi as expressing his country’s confidence in Syria’s ability to overcome the consequences of the war, stressing that “the Kingdom stands with it.” A high-ranking Saudi diplomat earlier described Arab attempts at dialogue, which will “inevitably” take place with Damascus in consultation with the international community, saying that “there is a permanent dialogue to bring Syria back into the arms of the Arabs.”
The Saudi foreign minister’s travel to Damascus came days after his Syrian counterpart, Faisal al-Mikdad, visited Riyadh for the first time in more than 12 years. In the Saudi capital, he held very active and positive talks about efforts to achieve a political solution to the Syrian crisis, to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland and to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the affected areas of the country. This, in turn, came after Iran and Saudi Arabia announced in an April 6 joint statement in Beijing the resumption of diplomatic relations in response to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s initiative.
According to Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi’s state visit to China earlier this year led to “new and very serious” talks between Iranian and Saudi delegations that have had a favorable impact on the improvement of situation in Syria and Yemen. Saudi Arabia’s positive efforts to bring about a cease-fire in Yemen were also a direct result of these agreements. After three days of prisoner exchanges, more than 100 Yemeni prisoners of war were released with the help of Riyadh and Sanaa. According to world media reports, the situation in Yemen is now somewhat stabilized and there is talk of negotiations between the warring parties to end the civil war.
According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Brig. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said this was part of “efforts to stabilize the ceasefire and create an atmosphere of dialogue between the Yemeni sides to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable political solution that will end the Yemeni crisis.” But the International Committee of the Red Cross called the move by Saudi Arabia, which seeks a permanent ceasefire in Yemen in its own interests, “one-sided.”
It is interesting that the Committee is completely under the influence of the United States, and this assessment of the Saudi actions clearly shows the course of Washington to provoke a civil war in Yemen. There is no need to talk about the peace-loving actions of the United States, which at every turn talks about its efforts to “take care” of the peace in different regions of the world. One might recall how the “peaceful and democratic” US is pumping weapons into the neo-fascist Ukraine, pitting its leadership against Russia to wage war until the last drop of Ukrainian blood. At the other end of the globe, Washington is doing all it can to create tension and military action in Taiwan against China.
A Saudi delegation has just been to Sanaa in an effort to establish a longer cease-fire. Although various discussions ended without a truce, agreement was reached on a new meeting and new talks. According to the kingdom, the additional release was meant to help the cease-fire efforts. The two sides will continue their talks after Eid al-Fitr, the holiday celebrated this week at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
It is only natural – and there is ample evidence of this – that talks between a high-ranking Saudi diplomat and the Syrian president in Damascus will further anger and enrage the “peace-loving” United States, which opposes any Arab revival of ties with Damascus. CIA Director Bill Burns confusedly told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Washington feels “stunned” by Riyadh’s actions to re-establish ties with Iran and Syria because the Kingdom is pursuing a foreign policy that is not aligned with the West. From this episode alone, one can understand the very essence of the decisions of the American leadership, which is still thinking in terms of the rulers of the world.
But threats, demands, and appeals from Washington have gone unanswered, as the government of President Assad has witnessed a diplomatic surge in the normalization of Syria’s relations with several other Arab countries in recent months. The Saudi foreign minister’s trip was the first visit by a senior Saudi diplomat to Damascus since ties had been severed 12 years ago when the Syrian civil war had began with widespread foreign intervention, primarily by the United States and its local satellites.
The meeting, as reported by Saudi state media, discussed the steps needed for a political solution to the conflict in Syria that would preserve its Arab identity and return it to an “Arab environment.” Assad noted at the talks, and this is his firm view, that the kingdom’s “open and realistic policy” has benefited not only his country, but the entire region. For its part, the official Saudi Press Agency SPA reported: “At the beginning of the reception, the Saudi foreign minister conveyed to the Syrian president greetings from the keeper of the two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and their wishes for the brotherly government of Syria and its people for security and stability.” The agency stressed that “during the reception, they discussed efforts to achieve a political solution to the Syrian crisis that preserves unity, security, stability, Arab identity and territorial integrity.” The Saudi foreign minister emphasized to the Syrian president “the importance of ensuring proper conditions for aid to reach all regions of Syria, creating the necessary conditions for the return of Syrian refugees and displaced persons to their areas, ending their suffering, enabling them to return safely to their homeland and taking further measures that would contribute to the stability and situation throughout Syrian territory.”
However the statement did not mention the Arab League summit to be hosted by Riyadh this May. But Damascus has repeatedly stated that fraternal ties with neighboring countries are more important than its return to the Arab League, because an invitation to the League of Arab States (LAS) would be meaningless if relations with Arab states remain cold and normal fraternal relations with other Arab states are not resumed. In this regard, Syria’s foreign minister, who recently visited Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Tunisia, among others, said that his country’s return to the Arab League would be “almost impossible until bilateral relations are mended.” This could explain the rapid diplomatic meetings between Damascus and its Arab neighbors, on which Assad initially insisted.
All these facts and active diplomatic activity show quite clearly the failure of the Western policy, led by the US, aimed at maintaining a hotbed of tension around Syria. At the same time, it is obvious that Syria will be accepted as a member of the LAS at its next meeting, and normal relations will be resumed between the Syrian Arab Republic, which will help to improve the situation in this complex region of the world.
Viktor Mikhin, corresponding member of RANS, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”