Syria’s return to the Arab fold is a welcome change

 For a change, there is some good news from this region. First, the process of Syria’s return to the Arab fold has reached the highest levels of government in Damascus and Arab capitals. Second, Syrian Kurds seek talks with Damascus. While earlier discussions have failed to achieve results, the Kurds may now see that US-backed separatism is doomed at a time the Arabs are closing ranks. A deal between Damascus and the Kurds would return to Syrian sovereignty about 25 per cent of the country’s territory and its valuable oil fields.

Third, there seems to be movement on neighbouring Lebanon’s political deadlock. The five-nation group pressing for the election of a president and the formation of a new government may have reached an accommodation. This group — comprising Saudi Arabia, France, the US, Egypt and Qatar — has apparently accepted the presidential candidacy of Suleiman Frangie, the grandson of the 1970s president, and on the choice of Nawaf Salam as prime minister. He is a nephew of Saeb Salam, who served four times as prime minister between 1952 and 1973, and a justice on the International Court based in The Hague. Frangie, reportedly, paid an informal visit to Damascus

last week to meet Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.

Fourth, Bahrain and Iran appear ready to reopen their respective embassies. The UAE and Qatar are moving in that direction, Kuwait and Iran are sorting out border issues to facilitate oil production, and Jordan and Iran are upgrading ties. The background for these developments has been provided by two unexpected events. The February 6th earthquakes which devastated northwest Syria and southwest Turkey. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Libya and Lebanon sent humanitarian aid for Syrian victims in Aleppo, Hama and Lakakia provinces. The formerly divided Arabs found a common cause in Syria where they provided food, shelters, medical relief, and building material for survivors.

The March 10th China-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran ended their rivalry and prompted them to reopen embassies shuttered since 2016 and make common cause on key issues dividing Arabs from Arabs, and Arabs from non-Arab regional heavyweights Iran and Turkey.

This landmark deal could have major implications for the worldwide Muslim Umma by reducing tensions between Sunnis and Shias. On the international scene, although Riyadh and Tehran had been involved in Omani and Iraqi mediation efforts for several years, China finalised the deal because Beijing is seen as a neutral power which is now asserting a political role on the world stage. The Beijing agreement cut out the US which has long been the dominant foreign power in the region and has meddled in Arab affairs with the aim of dividing and weakening the Arabs. By contrast, China seeks to unite the Arabs and, apparently, promote peace among them and with non-Arab regional actors.

A week ago Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan visited Damascus where he held discussions with Assad on ending the country’s isolation and lifting its 11-year suspension from the Arab League before or during the Arab summit next month. An anonymous Syrian source told The Gulf Today there is reason to be optimistic.

Damascus and Riyadh are set to open their consular missions after Eid Al Fitr. Al-Mayadeen television channel’s website reported that Prince Faisal presented Assad with an invitation to visit Riyadh. He has already travelled to the Emirates and Oman. On the same day, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad travelled to Tunis where he met Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar to organise the renewal of diplomatic ties between their two countries. The most important issue on their agenda is how to cooperate against fugitive Tunisian fighters who have continued to attack Syrian civilians and troops since the 2017-2019 fall of the Daesh caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Tunisians formed the largest contingent of militants who went to Syria after 2011 to fight with Daesh and other armed groups against

the Syrian government.

The suppport of North African Tunisia and Algeria bolsters the Saudi and Emirati effort to engineer Syria’s return to the Arab League by reaching consensus ahead of the Arab summit on May 19th. However, Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco, and the Tripoli-based government in Libya have expressed reservations. Last week Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyadh. This encounter coincided with the first visit to the kingdom of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who was in Makkah to perform the Umrah, the little Hajj. This was his first visit to Saudi Arabia for a Hamas leader sonce 2015. While there has been no mention of a meeting between Abbas and Haniyeh, the latter has called for reconciliation between the two wings of Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory. Abbas has not responded to this overture.

Nevertheless, Haniyeh’s visit was not wasted as it signified a Saudi opening to Hamas which has been boycotted by Riyadh since 2015. After the movement expelled Fatah security forces from Gaza and appointed its own administration in the narrow coastal strip, Riyadh tried and failed to broker an enduring Fatah-Hamas backed coalition.

Meanwhile, aid continues to flow into Syria. The third Emirati ship laden with aid arrived at Latakia port a week ago to deliver 822.5 tonnes of food and medical supplies and 685 tonnes of building materials for victims of the quakes which killed 1,400, injured 2,500, displaced 105,000 Syrians and affected 8.8 million. The World Bank estimated the cost of rebuilding at $7.9 billion spread over three years. The next task for the Arabs will be to leap the hurdles of US-driven Western sanctions which amount to internationally outlawed collective punishment of the Syrian people as sanctions prevent Syria from obtaining material for reconstructing its quake- and war-wrecked cities, towns, villages and countryside.