Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan's visit to Damascus is an important step towards ending Syria's isolation in the region
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Damascus on Tuesday, 18 April, in the first visit of a top diplomat from regional power Saudi Arabia to Syria since ties were cut following the start of the US-backed war on Syria in 2011.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Prince Faisal’s visit falls within the framework of “the Kingdom’s keenness and interest to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that ends all its repercussions and preserves Syria’s unity, security, stability, and its Arab identity, and restores it to its Arab surroundings, in a way that achieves the good of its brotherly people.”
President Assad said the kingdom’s “open and realistic policies” benefited the region and that an “Arab role is necessary for supporting the Syrian people to overcome all the repercussions of the war on Syria, stabilize the situation and liberate all Syrian territory.”
According to Reuters, Foreign Minister bin Farhan’s visit “is the most significant step yet towards ending Syria’s decade-long regional isolation, and at a time of wider rapprochement in the region.”
Bin Farhan’s visit followed the Saudi Kingdom’s invite to President Assad to attend an Arab League summit due to take place next month in Riyadh. On Friday, Gulf Arab foreign ministers and their counterparts from Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan discussed Syria’s possible return to the league.
Following the launch of the US-backed insurgency to topple the Syrian government in 2011, Syria’s membership in the Arab League was suspended. Saudi Arabia played a prominent role in the US regime change effort by funding extremist armed groups, including ISIS and Jaish al-Islam.
The Syrian army, with the help of Iran and Russia, eventually defeated the insurgency, but not before losing control of large sections of the country in the north and northeast.
The reestablishment of relations between Riyadh and Damascus is part of a wider trend that has also seen Saudi Arabia and regional Islamic rival Iran agree to restore ties.
While several Arab countries have also reestablished ties with Damascus, Qatar remains opposed to normalization and does not wish to see Syria readmitted to the Arab League.
Qatar also armed and funded extremist insurgent groups during the US-led war on Syria, including the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front (now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham), which still occupies Syria’s northern Idlib province.
But while Syria’s international isolation is slowly ending, Israel finds itself increasingly isolated.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hoped to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia following his reelection to the prime minister post in December in an effort to jointly confront Iran.
However, with the Saudi move to restore relations with Iran and Syria, a future normalization with Israel now appears in doubt.