Saudi Arabia is hosting European and Middle Eastern heads of diplomacy on Sunday to discuss Syria, where foreign capitals are hoping for a return to stability after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
‘There will be two meetings. The first between Arab states. The second between Arab states and other countries’, including France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Turkey and Spain, as well as the United Nations, a Saudi official who requested anonymity told AFP on Saturday.
The meeting comes at a time when the transitional authorities led by the country's new leader, Ahmad al-Chareh, are calling for international sanctions against Syria to be lifted.
Western powers, in particular the United States and the European Union, imposed sanctions on Bashar al-Assad's government because of its repression of popular protests in 2011, which sparked off the civil war.
After 13 years of a war that killed more than half a million people, devastated the economy and forced millions to flee, including to Europe, rebels led by the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, ousted Bashar al-Assad from power on 8 December.
The transitional government that was installed in its wake has since been pressing for the international sanctions to be lifted, but many capitals, including Washington, have said they are waiting to see how the new authorities will exercise their power before making a decision.
The European Union's head of diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, said on Friday that the 27 member states could ‘gradually’ ease their sanctions ‘provided that tangible progress is made’, particularly on the protection of minorities.
Sunday's discussions will focus in particular on the level of support to be given to the new administration and on a possible lifting of sanctions, confirmed the Saudi official.
Saudi Arabia severed its ties with Assad's government in 2012 and supported the rebel groups that were trying to oust him from power.
But in 2023, Riyadh restored relations with Syria and worked to bring Damascus back into the Arab League, ending its diplomatic isolation.
This month, the wealthy Gulf kingdom sent food, shelter and medical aid to Syria.
Beyond this aid, Riyadh is now looking at ways to support the transition.
‘This summit sends the message that Saudi Arabia wants to impose itself at the head of regional efforts to support the reconstruction of Syria,’ says Anna Jacobs, a researcher at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
‘But the big question is how much time and how many resources Saudi Arabia will devote to these efforts, and what is possible as long as many sanctions remain in place’, she added.
The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, and her Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, have confirmed their participation in the Riyadh meeting, which follows on from previous discussions held in December in Jordan, according to the Saudi official.
The outgoing US Under-Secretary of State, John Bass, will also take part.
Bass will arrive from Turkey, where he stressed ‘the importance of regional stability, preventing Syria from being used as a base for terrorism, and ensuring the lasting defeat’ of the jihadist group Islamic State, according to the State Department.
Saudi Arabia is taking a more cautious stance towards the new Syrian authorities than other countries such as Turkey and Qatar, which were the first to reopen their embassies in Damascus, points out Umer Karim, a researcher on Syria at the University of Birmingham.
Nevertheless, Riyadh is ‘positively observing’ the new Syrian leaders and is looking to see whether they can bring stability and ‘control the more extreme elements in their ranks’, he added.
For Anna Jacobs, Sunday's meeting ‘gives Riyadh the opportunity to increase its influence with the new Syrian government and to cultivate greater influence in a country where Turkey and Qatar now have more influence’.
With AFP.
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