DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Syria’s interim president made his first journey overseas Sunday, touring to Saudi Arabia in a transfer doubtless attempting to sign Damascus’ shift away from Iran as its essential regional ally.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was as soon as aligned with al-Qaida, traveled to Riyadh alongside his authorities’s overseas minister, Asaad al-Shaibani. A photograph printed by the state-run SANA information company confirmed the 2 males on a jet, doubtless supplied by the dominion, with a Saudi flag seen on the desk behind them.
Saudi state tv trumpeted the truth that the primary journey by al-Sharaa, first recognized internationally by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, would make Riyadh his first vacation spot.
Saudi Arabia had been among the many Arab nations that poured cash into rebel teams that attempted to topple former President Bashar Assad after Syria’s 2011 Arab Spring protests become a bloody crackdown. Nevertheless, its teams discovered themselves overwhelmed again as Assad, supported by Iran and Russia, fought the battle right into a stalemate in Syria.
That modified with the December lightning offensive led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The group was as soon as affiliated with al-Qaida however has since denounced its former ties.
Al-Sharaa and HTS have fastidiously managed their public picture within the time since, with the interim president favoring an olive-colored navy look much like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appointing ladies to roles and attempting to take care of ties to Syria’s Christian and Shiite Alawite populations.
That additionally consists of protecting each Iran and Russia largely at arms’ size as properly. Iran has but to reopen its embassy in Damascus, which had been a key node in working operations by its self-described “Axis of Resistance,” together with Assad’s Syria, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and different companions. Russia in the meantime wish to preserve entry to air and sea bases it has in Syria, however took in Assad when he fled Syria through the advance.
These strikes seem aimed toward reassuring the West and attempting to get crippling sanctions lifted on Syria. Rebuilding the nation after over a decade of battle will doubtless value lots of of billions of {dollars}, to not point out overlaying the wants of Syria’s folks, thousands and thousands of whom stay impoverished.
Saudi Overseas Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus in January and stated Riyadh has been “actively participating in dialogue” to carry sanctions on Syria. Saudi Arabia, in contrast to Al-Sharaa’s key allies in Turkey and Qatar, restored ties with Assad in 2023 alongside many of the Arab world. Getting sanctions lifted may go a good distance in cementing their relationship.
In the meantime, Syria’s interim authorities nonetheless faces challenges from the Islamic State group and different militants within the nation. On Saturday, a automobile bomb exploded in Manbij, a metropolis in Syria’s Aleppo governorate, killing 4 civilians and wounding 9, SANA reported, citing civil protection officers.
Turkish-backed Syrian rebels had seized Manbij in December, a part of a push by Ankara to safe Syrian territory near its border for a buffer zone.
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Related Press author Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
