Saudi Arabia was once the Syrian regime’s biggest supporter, providing aid to Damascus to the tune of millions of dollars during the first Gulf War as a reward for Syrian membership of the U.S.-led coalition against Saddam. However, relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia have been steadily worsening ever since Bashar al-Assad came to power in 2000. Once considered sister countries, the traditional Arab alliance between Syria and Saudi Arabia has begun to fray due to differences stemming from foreign policy. …
No subject has proven more central to the unraveling of this relationship than that of Lebanon. In addition to differing views over who should govern Lebanon, the Saudi government has been frustrated with Syrian policy toward Iraq. Saudi perceptions of Syrian complacency toward the cross border traffic of Saudi jihadists into Iraq tops the list of Riyadh’s grievances on this front. …
Given this recent history, Riyadh’s insistence that the White House invite Damascus to last November’s Middle East summit in Annapolis seems odd. Yet the Saudis may have viewed the meeting as a last ditch attempt to bring the Syrians back into the fold. Along with Washington and other Arab capitals, Riyadh has become more and more worried by the increasingly close ties between Syria and Iran as of late. … Ironically, however, Saudi criticism of Syrian positions on Iraq and Lebanon may only have served to further isolate Damascus, pushing it into Tehran’s welcoming arms. Access the full article>>