‘Times have changed’: Saudi Arabia-Syria in rapprochement talks

After years of conflict, Riyadh now views Damascus as an expedient avenue to shore up broader regional interests. According to a senior official from the Syrian opposition Free Officer’s Movement, who maintains close contacts within the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and General Intelligence Directorate, “the political mood within the House of Saud has changed, many senior royals, particularly Mohammad bin Salman himself, are keen to reengage with Assad”. ‘Defuse Iran tensions’ According to a Damascus-based official from the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs who was privy to the recent talks with Riyadh, “MBS is engaged in efforts to defuse tensions with The Islamic Republic of Iran by engaging with Syria.” According to the official, “MBS instructed his team to reassure Syria that he does not want regime change against Bashar, and that Syria, as a brotherly Arab nation, should naturally be close to Saudi Arabia”. According to the well-connected figure from the Free Officer’s Movement, “the Saudi officials made clear to the government that they want to re-normalise relations, but any support for Syria in the diplomatic field will need to be preceded by signs that Assad is serious about reducing the influence of the Iranian hand in Damascus … expelling the Iranian militia, and ending and Hezbollah’s exploitation of Syria as a giant military base.” Yet, even if al-Assad had the political will to do so, it is doubtful he has the capability to extirpate Iran’s vast network of proxy militiamen, whose help he needs to keep the remnants of his armed opponents at bay. “The Saudis acknowledge that the Iranians will continue to have covert political influence in Damascus as they do in Baghdad, but they and the UAE want Assad to pressure the Iranians to at least reduce their build-up of strategic military assets, like the missile storage and production bases.” The Saudi-Syrian dialogue follows a recent Russian-facilitated meeting held between representatives of the Israeli and Syrian governments, at which Iran’s military presence was also discussed.