Damascus Saudi-Syrian Summit Projects Renewed Arab Solidarity Vs Axis Moves.

Saudi King Abdullah's Oct. 7-8 state visit to Damascus resulted in a renewal of pan-Arab solidarity and an agreement on healing wounds in the GME from the AfPak front to African affairs, Egypt, the GCC area, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey and Yemen. This solidarity was intended to eclipse the Iran-led axis, which divided the Arabs and the Muslim world. But Syrian spokespersons, led by Mrs Buthaina Sha'ban, also stressed the creation of an "Arab-Islamic space including Iran, Saudi, Syria and Turkey" and spoke of "two Ummahs" (nations), an Arab Ummah and an Islamic Ummah (including AfPak, Iran, Turkey and other non-Arab parts of the Muslim world).

Iran's militarised Ja'fari Shi'ite theocracy has been stressing "the [one] Islamic Ummah", under its leadership, seeking to have a "global" Imamate not much different from the Turkoman-Persian empire which centuries ago used to compete with the "global" Sunni Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire (see rim6IranSafawidsHistoryJun28-04). This is in tactical alliance with the Neo-Salafi movement, by far the most fanatic and violent strain in Sunni Islam, which also stresses "the [one] Islamic Ummah", under its leadership (see news9GCC-IranQaedaAug25-08).

The Saudi-owned, pan-Arab TV al-Arabia, and the BBC, both having covered King Abdullah's visit extensively, quoted Washington-based Egyptian analyst Amr al-Hamzawi as saying the Saudi-Syrian accord came at the most opportune time for the US as the Americans were preparing to leave Iraq - "hopefully a stable and democratic Iraq" - and "focus their efforts on the AfPak front".

Top members of the visiting 100-man Saudi team on Oct. 9 said their monarch, a reformer and moderator of the Arabian kingdom's Salafi/Wahhabi faith, was impressed by the "unprecedented warmth" of the popular reception he had received in Damascus. They said his meetings with President Assad, including the closed sessions, were "particularly positive" - judging by statements carried by al-Arabiya and other GCC media, though Qatar's media vehemently attacked the summit.

Joint statements issued during the visit said the Saudi and Syrian rulers had resolved to "strengthen co-operation in all areas". Saudi-Syrian relations were to be "boosted on the bilateral, regional and international levels", and many agreements on these were signed.

The Saudi king arrived in Damascus in the afternoon of Oct. 7 on a symbolic visit meant to signal the healing of the rift between the two Arab states. Highlighting the regional significance of the talks, a first joint statement in the evening of Oct. 7 said the two leaders resolved that "the upgrade of Saudi-Syrian relations will be reflected positively on the various issues of concern to all Arabs".

The visit came as the US was trying to engage Syria on a range of issues, including the alleged flow of volunteers for Neo-Salafi and Ba'thist insurgents into Iraq and a deteriorating situation in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. The US and its Arab and Turkish allies also hoped the visit was to loosen Iran's grip over Syria's commitments to the axis programme for the GME.

Syria is under US sanctions, renewed this year by the Obama administration. But in the previous week in Washington, top US State Department officials under ex-ambassador to Lebanon Geoffrey Feltman received Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, the highest Syrian official to visit the US capital in five years. And the visit of the Saudi king was seen in Damascus as having the blessings of both the US and Egypt. Real pan-Arab solidarity has proven to be only possible if this is based on agreement between Saudi Arabia and each of Egypt and Syria. But now, Cairo and Riyadh expect Assad to make the next move of visiting Egyptian President Husni Mubarak.

After four years of tension between Syria and each of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, both sides had realised they needed each other and could play a role to help each other in all fields of mutual interest. This is particularly in the case of relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria. The FT on Oct. 8 quoted an un-named "Saudi analyst close to the government" as saying the Damascus summit was partly to show "Israel, America and everybody that it is not the Arabs' fault there is no peace".

These states back an Arab peace plan introduced in Beirut in late March 2002 by then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah during an Arab summit at the Lebanese capital. But Syrian and the Saudi-Egypt partnership have since had very different outlooks on the region.

Syria and each of Egypt and Saudi Arabia have fallen out since 2005 over a range of issues, notably the assassination of Lebanese/Saudi billionaire Hariri, which many Lebanese blamed on Syria but for which Damascus has denied responsibility. The Saudi-Egyptian camp and Syria backed rival factions in the Palestinian territories, with Syria supporting Hamas (an offshoot of the banned Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood - a Sunni movement close to Iran) which now rules the Gaza strip, while Riyadh and Cairo stand behind Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads both the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Fatah.

A visit to Syria by Abbas, due to take place at the same time as the king's, was cancelled because the PA had prevented the pursuit of a UN report on "war crimes" committed by Israel and Hamas during Israel's 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip which ended on Jan. 18, 2009. Egypt now is trying to get Hamas to reconcile with Fatah in Cairo, where it wants them to sign an agreement on Oct. 25.

President Assad met with King Abdullah in Jeddah on Sept. 23 as the Syrian leader - pushed by Turkish PM Recep Tayyib Erdogan to make the move - arrived unexpectedly in Jeddah and had two hours of frank talks with King Abdullah. Assad then joined Arab, Muslim and world leaders, as well as Nobel laureates, in attending the opening of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). That was at the height of a crisis between Saudi-led camp for the Muslim world and the Tehran-headed axis, with Iran not invited to the KAUST event (see news13SaudiMovesSep28-09).

There has been a gradual warming of relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria, which has contributed to a lowering of tensions in the GME, notably in Iraq, Lebanon and between the Palestinian factions. In Yemen, the IRGC and its Lebanese branch Hizbullah have sided with the Zaidi Shi'ite rebellion of the Houthis in that country's north-west, on the border with Saudi Arabia (see news15YemnIrnOct12-09).

Jamal Khashuggi, a top Saudi analyst who advises the royal family and is editor of al-Watan daily, told al-Arabiya: "I don't see it happening [between Saudi Arabia and Syria] with open arms but with a lot of manoeuvring and tactful moves". He did not foresee a rift between Syria and Iran as a result of the closer ties with the kingdom. But he said Lebanon and Iraq figured high on the agenda of the Damascus summit.

In Beirut, many politicians and media see the Damascus summit as being decisive in forming a Lebanese cabinet, four months after the US/EU- and Saudi-backed March 14 Coalition won the June 7 parliamentary elections. Paul Salem, who heads the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, said: "It would be embarrassing if no government emerged within two weeks after the summit" between Assad and King Abdullah.