King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia visited Syria this week and accompanied Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on a visit to Beirut, all the while closely watched by Washington, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus Saudi Arabian monarch King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz arrived in Damascus on 29 July for a two-day visit, intending to consult with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad about the situation in Lebanon. The visit came in the wake of statements made by the Lebanese political movement Hizbullah regarding indictments expected in the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri in 2005, which are slated for September. Also on the agenda were issues of inter-Arab conciliation, especially between Syria and Egypt. Although only a brief press release was issued at the conclusion of the talks, Syrian officials described the meeting as being an "historic one in tough times." According to Suleiman Hadad, chairman of the foreign relations committee of the Syrian parliament, in an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, the talks had been "a summit meeting and a way of restoring Arab harmony." "Syria is following a policy of reaching understanding with all the Arab states, especially heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia. At the moment, there are several developments in the Arab arena, including hot Middle Eastern issues like Palestine, Gaza, Iraq and Lebanon. These were all discussed by the two leaders." According to Fayez Ezzeddin, a leading figure in the ruling Syrian Baath Party, King Abdullah's visit was "a precursor to the emergency summit in September." Saudi Arabia had begun "showing its appreciation of Syria's political position and Damascus's wish to clear the air with the Arab countries," especially since the Arabs "are fed up with US policies in the region. The promises made by US president Barack Obama after his election have evaporated, and US decisions are now being dictated by the right wing in the United States," Ezzeddin said. Following the discussions in Damascus, the Syrian and Saudi leaders made a short four-hour visit to Lebanon, where they met with the Lebanese president and senior officials. Lebanese officials said that Abdullah had asked Al-Assad to accompany him to Beirut, in order that the Syrian president could use his influence with Hizbullah to de-escalate tensions. These are likely to rise if the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) currently investigating Al-Hariri's assassination rules that Hizbullah or some of its members were involved. Last year, the Saudi monarch visited Syria for the first time since Al-Hariri's assassination in 2005. The current détente between Damascus and Riyad, with the latter having been a supporter of Al-Hariri, has been well received in Beirut, and it helped to pave the way for the formation of a Lebanese national unity government. Syrian media coverage of the Saudi monarch's visit focused on the implications of Al-Assad's leaving Damascus for Beirut in Abdullah's company at the end of the monarch's visit. Describing the visit to Lebanon as one intended to "reconcile the nation," the Syrian media said that it "highlighted Syria's important role in the region," while at the same time omitting any mention of Hizbullah's statements regarding the possible indictments to be made by the STL. According to Lebanese officials, the visit was intended to address the situation in Lebanon and to help maintain peace in the country. It aimed to reinforce understandings between Syria, on one hand, and Saudi Arabia, Syria and France, on the other, regarding promises made by Damascus to help maintain stability in Lebanon and to remove itself from Lebanese internal politics. The US was also well aware of the circumstances surrounding the Syrian-Saudi meeting, with Philip Crowley, a spokesman for the US State Department, even hinting that Abdullah would be conveying a message from the US to Syria. One day ahead of the visit, Crowley said that Abdullah would be voicing "his concerns regarding recent security tensions in the region, including his very serious concern about Iran." "We appreciate the leadership of King Abdullah in the region, and certainly support his talks with a country like Syria," Crowley stated. "We hope that Syria is responsive and plays a more constructive role in the region." Syria had failed to achieve its aims with regard to its ties with Iran, he said. "This is one of the reasons why we are in contact with Syria, in order to deliver a direct message. To some extent, Syria could listen to leaders in the region, such as King Abdullah. We believe that President Al-Assad and the Syrian leadership must be very attentive to what King Abdullah will tell them." Following Crowley's comments, a source in the Syrian foreign ministry expressed anger at the US statements. "It is not the role of the US, and it has no right, to dictate our relationships with countries in the region, or to interfere in talks taking place during the Saudi monarch's visit to Damascus," the source said. Syria and Saudi Arabia are "independent states that know more than anyone else does the interests of the people in the region and how best to serve them without interference from outside." For its part, the Saudi media largely ignored Crowley's statements, even as the Syrian media launched a campaign of criticism of the US administration. The Syrian state-owned newspaper Al-Thawra censured the "absurdity" of the US, saying that "the US was too hasty, going to the point of absurdity, in commenting on the meeting between Syria and Saudi Arabia, all in an attempt to make it fail." Describing Crowley's statements as "insolent, improper and undiplomatic," the newspaper said that "the US does not have the right to attempt to give the impression that King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz is a messenger of the US, and that Saudi-Syrian talks are intended to exchange messages on behalf of the US." Together with Crowley's statements, the US response to Al-Assad's visit to Beirut came in the form of the renewal of sanctions against various Syrian officials. The sanctions were first passed in 2007 as part of measures first intended to end in August this year. US president Barack Obama also used the occasion of al-Assad's visit to Beirut to repeat allegations that Syria was delivering weapons to Hizbullah. "While there have been some recent positive developments in the Syrian-Lebanese relationship," Obama said in a message to the US Congress, "continuing arms transfers to Hizbullah that include increasingly sophisticated weapons systems serve to undermine Lebanese sovereignty and contribute to political and economic instability in the region." They were part of the "actions of some people which undermine the independence of Lebanon, its institutions and march towards democracy," he said. According to European sources the US renewal of sanctions against Syria, including the freezing of the assets of leading Syrian officials, will have come as no surprise to Damascus. Syria is unlikely to have been surprised either when the Obama administration renewed US economic sanctions against Syria in May, imposed in 2004 under the Syria Accountability Act. However, while Damascus may have been trying to convince itself that the renewed sanctions have been effectively defanged, making their renewal a largely administrative measure, in reality there is more to it than this. The US has still not sent a new ambassador to Damascus, despite the nomination of Robert Ford for the post, five years after the US ambassador was recalled in the wake of Al-Hariri's assassination. After his election in 2009, Obama declared that he would be revising US-Syrian relations, also sending US officials for talks with their Syrian counterparts about "issues of concern" impeding relations between the two sides. In February this year, Obama agreed to appoint a new US ambassador to Damascus, even as the US administration apparently still considers Syria to be untrustworthy. Observers noted that Obama's statement to Congress on Syria came just a few hours ahead of Al-Assad's trip to Beirut and coincided with Saudi-Syrian efforts to resolve tensions over expected indictments in the investigation into Al-Hariri's assassination. It may be that Washington is sending a message to Damascus, not through the Saudi monarch as the Syrians stated, but through its renewal of sanctions against the country and its cautioning Syria that it is being scrutinised. Washington is keeping a close eye on Syria's foreign policy, especially towards Lebanon, and it expects Syria to distance itself from Iran before it is willing to believe that the country is playing a constructive regional role.
