Syrian President Bashar al-Assad holds talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Damascus, Syria, April 18, 2023. Photo credit: via Reuters
In 2011, when civil strife broke out in Syria following street protests, Saudi Arabia led efforts to isolate the Arab regime. President Bashar al-Assad And get the country out of the Arab League. When the Sunni-majority country, ruled by the secular Arab Ba’ath party, slid into a civil war, Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies backed various rebel groups in the Gulf fighting Mr. Assad, who belongs to the minority Alawite community (an offshoot). were related to. Shiism). One of such groups was Ahrar al-Sham, which wanted to overthrow the Assad regime and create an Islamic state in Syria based on Sharia.
But those days seem like a distant past. Recent weeks have seen Arab countries and Syria attempt to restore their lost harmony. Jordan and Egypt recently sent their foreign ministers to Damascus for their first top-level visits since the start of the civil war. mr asad visited uae Last month, he was received by the Ruler of the Seven Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. Earlier this week, Tunisia became the latest Arab country to normalize relations with Syria. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan on Tuesday traveled to damascus where he held talks with Mr. Assad. Saudi Arabia, which is hosting the next Arab League summit in May, is reportedly pushing for Syria’s re-admission to the grouping. Bashar al-Assad, whom everyone wanted to know until a few years ago, is no longer a pariah.
victory in the civil war
Experts say these changes are part of a larger restructuring underway in West Asia. On 10 March, Saudi Arabia reached an agreement to re-establish diplomatic relations with Iran. Secret talks mediated by China, The Saudis are also in talks with Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, to end the country’s eight-year war.
“The normalization between Saudi Arabia and Syria suggests that regional powers are re-evaluating their strategies after Assad regained control of most of Syria in recent years,” said Mohammed Soliman, director of the Washington-based Middle East Institute. “It also reflects Riyadh’s approach to Tehran, including the China-backed Saudi-Iran accord, developing ties with Baghdad and now the restoration of ties with Syria,” Mr. Soliman said. Hindu,
Iran and Saudi Arabia were on opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. While Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Turkey supported various rebel groups in Syria, Iran and Russia supported the Assad regime. Iran mobilized Shiite militias, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, to fight alongside Mr Assad’s forces, while Russia came to the regime’s aid in September 2015. and jihadists, from Aleppo to Homs. Currently, most of the country is under direct rule except for Idlib, a province in the northwest, which is ruled by jihadist Tahrir al-Sham (an al-Qaeda-linked group), Kurdish areas and some enclaves on the Turkish border. have control.
Mr. Assad’s victory forced most Arab countries to rethink their strategy. The UAE took the first step when it re-established formal ties with Damascus in late 2018. Mr. Assad has since visited Abu Dhabi twice. february earthquake Which killed thousands in Turkey and Syria, became a diplomatic opportunity for Damascus and its Arab neighbors. Syria wanted help, and its neighbors seemed ready to rescue its older Arab brother from the cold.
Jordan immediately opened talks with the Assad regime, which others followed. Once Saudi Arabia, arguably the most powerful and influential Arab country, warmed to normalizing relations with Damascus, it gave a new impetus to diplomacy. Now, it is only a matter of time before Mr. Assad is fully reintegrated into the Arab mainstream.
failed policies
“Why did Saudi change its policy towards Syria? This is because the previous policy did not work,” said Fahad Izzadi, associate professor, Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran. in an interview with HinduMr Izzadi said the Saudis spent billions of dollars on their Syria plan to topple the government. “The result was death, destruction and civil war in that country … All that money was not enough for them to achieve their goal.”
But the engagement could help him find some stability in West Asia. In the case of Syria, other Arab countries have accepted the fact that Mr. Assad has won the civil war. The next step is to pursue political reforms inside the country, creating conditions for Syrian refugees, millions of whom are still living in neighboring countries, to return, keeping Islamist forces that other Arab countries see as a threat , under control, and to roll back Iran’s growing influence in Damascus. None of these goals can be accomplished if they continue to boycott Mr. Assad, who is not going anywhere.
“It is good news for everyone in this part of the world that the Saudi government is changing its policy towards Syria, Yemen, Iran etc. They have realized that engaging and collaborating with these countries would be better for the Saudi government than confronting them. them or engaging in hostile activities,” said Mr Ijadi.
remaining challenges
While Syria’s return to the Arab fold marks a turning page in the tumultuous contemporary history of West Asia, a return to pre-civil war normalcy faces significant challenges. One, the wounds of the civil war, which killed millions, are still fresh for many Syrians. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Assad will be ready for serious political reforms at home or how the Kurdish question or Idlib problem will be resolved. Mr. Assad, at least in public comments, maintains that he will take back the entire country, if necessary, through force. Second, the US, the traditional great power in the region, is not happy with the Arab-Syrian rapprochement as Damascus remains under Western sanctions.
“Obviously, the US and Israel encouraged the Saudi government to engage in the previous policy and it is very clear that they do not like the new policy. And given the fact that the US has a lot of influence in Saudi Arabia, The fear is that the US will use that influence to force the Saudi government to change policy. We hope that the Saudi government can resist this type of pressure,” Mr Ijadi said.