Syria and Saudi Arabia have long been on opposite sides of a deep rift in the Arab world, pitting those countries that are allied with the U.S.—including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt—against those countries and militant groups such as Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah, which have opposed American power in the region and are at war with Israel. …
But several factors have been pushing the two countries back together. Though Syria survived the efforts of the Bush Administration and Saudi Arabia to isolate the country politically, it faces huge economic challenges as it switches from a Soviet-style economy to a market-driven model. Syria has been touting itself to investors as a future regional industrial and transportation hub. But it will need plenty of Saudi money and Western know-how—not to mention improved diplomatic relations—in order to make that great economic leap forward.
So Syria has been slowly accommodating American and Saudi positions on several issues as well as opening an embassy in Beirut, gracefully accepting the electoral defeat of its Lebanese allies in June, and restricting the flow of foreign fighters across Syrian land into Iraq. For their part, Saudi Arabia’s leaders have grown increasingly worried about the rising power of Iran. … With Iran’s ongoing nuclear-development program—which many Arab countries suspect is a cover for producing weapons—raising those concerns to a fever pitch, Saudi Arabia has decided it can no longer afford open confrontation with Syria.
But wooing Syria away from Iran will be no easy matter. … Indeed, rather than distance themselves from Iran, the Syrians recently gave the greenlight for Iran to expand its embassy in Damascus, already Iran’s largest in the region. … Still, in the short term, Abdullah’s visit is at least a sign that the leaders of the Arab Middle East have backed away from a regional confrontation. Access the full article>>
