Lebanon welcomes renewed Syrian-Saudi ties

Madeline Wahbi
For Al-Shorfa.com
2009-10-05

Saudi King Abdullah (C) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Jedda. (Omar Salem/AFP/Getty Images)

BEIRUT — Syria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have recently made clear efforts to improve bilateral relations, which may, in turn, help Lebanon in its struggle to form a national unity government.

Relations between the three states were strained in 2005 by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri who had strong ties to the Saudi royal family.

At the time, both Lebanon and Saudi Arabia claimed that Syria was responsible for the assassination, an allegation that Damascus has consistently denied. Charges of Syria's involvement in Al-Hariri’s death, however, only deepened existing tensions, and Saudi Arabia nearly severed diplomatic relations with Syria.

Recent efforts to renew Saudi-Syrian dialogue are exactly what Lebanon needs at the moment. In mid-September, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met King Abdullah in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The two reaffirmed their commitment to peace and a renewal of friendly Arab relations.

Analysts say that the Saudi-Syrian rapprochement will have a positive impact on Lebanon, which is facing a serious political crisis, as Prime Minister-elect Saad al-Hariri, Rafiq al-Hariri’s son, tries to form a national unity government nearly three months after the March 14 alliance won a majority in the June 7 parliamentary elections.

Tannous Mouawad, a retired Lebanese army general and head of Lebanon’s Middle East Studies Centre, a research institution, said, "If the Saudis respond to the Syrian initiative and King Abdullah decides to visit Syria, a new government will be formed in Lebanon." Lebanon considers the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be a close regional ally and relies on the country for political guidance. Mouawad added, "If both Syria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia work to reduce the severity of tensions, internal Lebanese divisions will also fade."

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