Saudi Arabia on Thursday was making preparations to host an necessary Arab regional assembly on ending Syria’s isolation, in opposition to the backdrop of a sequence of diplomatic adjustments together with its latest settlement to revive ties with archrival, Iran.
Friday’s nine-nation talks in Jeddah, the Red Sea gateway to Mecca, come after Syria’s overseas minister arrived on a beforehand unannounced go to – the primary because the outbreak of the nation’s civil battle in 2011.
It was one in a flurry of occasions that have been almost unthinkable earlier than Saudi Arabia and Iran’s landmark, Chinese-brokered announcement on March 10 that they’d resume ties, seven years after an acrimonious cut up.
On Wednesday, an Iranian delegation landed in Saudi Arabia to pave the way in which for reopening diplomatic missions, following a visit by a Saudi staff in the other way.
The Saudi ambassador to Yemen has held talks with Iran-backed Huthi rebels this week geared toward ending the devastating civil battle that has raged since a Saudi-led army intervention began in 2015.
Earlier this month, the Saudi and Iranian overseas ministers pledged to work collectively to deliver “security and stability” to the troubled area throughout a gathering in Beijing.
And late on Wednesday, gas-rich Qatar and its tiny Gulf neighbor Bahrain agreed to reestablish relations, placing apart a long-running diplomatic feud.
Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia, the world’s greatest oil exporter, and Shiite theocracy Iran have lengthy been vying for affect across the area, with Yemen a serious battleground.
But analysts say Saudi Arabia is now attempting to calm the area to permit it to concentrate on home tasks geared toward diversifying its energy-dependent economic system.
Bloody crackdown
On Friday, ministers and high officers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – together with Egypt, Iraq and Jordan will meet in Jeddah.
On the desk is Syria’s suspension from the Arab League, in place since Bashar Assad’s authorities launched a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.
Assad is backed by Iran and Russia however has been shunned by many Middle Eastern nations and is considered a pariah within the West over the brutal civil battle.
However, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al-Saud have mentioned “the necessary steps” to finish Damascus’s isolation, in line with a Saudi assertion Wednesday.
Although the 22-nation Arab League, which meets subsequent month in Saudi Arabia, takes choices by consensus, unanimous settlement is unlikely, a Riyadh-based diplomat advised AFP.
“The meeting aims to overcome the Gulf differences over Syria as much as possible,” the diplomat stated, singling out Qatar – an outspoken critic of the Assad authorities.
“I will not say taking a unified position because this will not happen, but the Saudis are trying at least to ensure that Qatar does not object to Syria’s return to the Arab League if the issue is put to any vote,” the diplomat added.
It was attainable that Foreign Minister Mekdad would attend the assembly “to present the Syrian point of view,” one other diplomat stated.
Ahead of the talks, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan flew to Cairo for talks with Egyptian chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
Unlike another Arab governments, Cairo by no means totally severed ties with Damascus after the battle, however relations have been downgraded.
The UAE has led the cost to deliver Syria again into the Arab fold, with Sheikh Mohamed saying final month that “the time has come” for Damascus to be reintegrated into the broader area.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
