Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. File
| Photo Credit: AP

File photo of Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
| Photo Credit: AP

Syria’s interim President made his first trip abroad on Sunday (February 2, 2025), travelling to Saudi Arabia in a move likely trying to signal Damascus’ shift away from Iran as its main regional ally.

Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with al-Qaeda, landed in Riyadh alongside his government’s foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani. The two men travelled on a Saudi jet, with a Saudi flag visible on the table behind them.

Saudi state television trumpeted the fact that the first trip by al-Sharaa, first known internationally by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, made Riyadh his first destination.

Syria’s new three-star, tricolour flag flew next to Saudi Arabia’s own at the airport as al-Sharaa in a suit and tie walked off the plane. He was scheduled to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, on the trip.

Saudi Arabia had been among the Arab nations that poured money into insurgent groups that tried to topple former President Bashar Assad after Syria’s 2011 Arab Spring protests turned into a bloody crackdown. However, its groups found themselves beaten back as Assad, supported by Iran and Russia, fought the war into a stalemate in Syria.

That changed with the December lightning offensive led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The group was once affiliated with al-Qaida but has since denounced its former ties.

Al-Sharaa and HTS have carefully managed their public image in the time since, with the interim president favouring an olive-coloured military look similar to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appointing women to roles and trying to maintain ties to Syria’s Christian and Shiite Alawite populations.

That also includes keeping both Iran and Russia largely at arms’ length as well. Iran has yet to reopen its embassy in Damascus, which had been a key node in running operations through its self-described “Axis of Resistance,” including Assad’s Syria, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and other partners. Russia meanwhile would like to maintain access to air and sea bases it has in Syria, but took in Assad when he fled Syria during the advance.

Those moves appear aimed at reassuring the West and trying to get crippling sanctions lifted on Syria. Rebuilding the country after over a decade of war will likely cost hundreds of billions of dollars, not to mention covering the needs of Syria’s people, millions of whom remain impoverished.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus in January and said Riyadh has been “actively engaging in dialogue” to lift sanctions on Syria. Saudi Arabia, unlike Al-Sharaa’s key allies in Turkey and Qatar, restored ties with Assad in 2023 alongside most of the Arab world. Getting sanctions lifted could go a long way in cementing their relationship.

Meanwhile, Syria’s interim government still faces challenges from the Islamic State group and other militants in the country. On Saturday, a car bomb exploded in Manbij, a city in Syria’s Aleppo governorate, killing four civilians and wounding nine, SANA reported, citing civil defense officials.

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels had seized Manbij in December, part of a push by Ankara to secure Syrian territory close to its border for a buffer zone.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler condemned what he called the “genocide” committed by Israel against Palestinians when he spoke at a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders on Monday.

“The Kingdom renews its condemnation and categorical rejection of the genocide committed by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at an Arab Islamic summit, echoing comments by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud late last month.

He urged the international community to stop Israel from attacking Iran and to respect Iran’s sovereignty.

The crown prince said in September the kingdom would not recognise Israel unless a Palestinian state were created.

US President Joe Biden’s administration had sought to broker a normalisation accord between Saudi Arabia and Israel that would have included U.S. security guarantees for the kingdom, among other bilateral deals between Washington and Riyadh.

Those normalisation efforts were put on ice after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza and Israel’s subsequent retaliation.

In a press conference later on Monday, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit pointed to an article in a concluding statement to the summit that moved to freeze Israel’s membership in the U.N. General Assembly.

He stated that freezing membership would not come under the Security Council’s jurisdiction and could be decided by the General Assembly.

“We might witness soon the freezing of the membership (of Israel) through a UNGA majority decision,” said Aboul Gheit.

The summit’s concluding statement demanded all countries ban exports or transfers of weapons and ammunition to Israel and urged the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for civilian and military officials in Israel.

Israel’s military assault on Gaza in the last 13 months has killed tens of thousands, displaced nearly its entire population, caused a hunger crisis and led to allegations of genocide at the World Court, which Israel denies.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)