Syrian delegation visits Saudi Arabia in first post-Assad trip: What we know

By Jennifer Gnana

DUBAI — Syrian Foreign Minister Hassan al-Shaibani arrived on a first trip to the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday, heading a delegation that met with Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the minister of defense and other senior officials.

Al-Shaibani's visit, coming less than a month since Bashar al-Assad fell on Dec. 8, is an important step toward normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest economy and a regional political heavyweight.

“I am honored to represent my country on my first official visit,” al-Shaibani said in a post on X on Monday. "We look forward to building strategic relations with our brothers in the kingdom in all fields.”

He was accompanied to Riyadh by newly appointed Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and the head of the General Intelligence Service, Anas Khattab.

The Syrian delegation was received by Saudi Arabia's deputy foreign minister, Waleed Elkhereiji, before meeting with Prince Faisal, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

The Syrian delegation also met with Saudi Defense Minister Khaled bin Salman on Thursday. In a statement posted on X, the Saudi royal said that the two sides discussed "developments in Syria and explored ways to support the transitional political process in achieving the Syrian people's aspirations for security, stability and unity."

سمو وزير الدفاع يعقد لقاءً مع وزيري الخارجية والدفاع ورئيس جهاز الاستخبارات العامة في الإدارة السورية الجديدة.https://t.co/v18X5fnT7D#واس_عام pic.twitter.com/NK9DfsjxPa

— واس العام (@SPAregions) January 2, 2025

Al-Shaibani was appointed to his position on Dec. 21 by the new government led by the leader of Islamist opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

"Through this first visit in the history of Free Syria, we aspire to open a new, bright page in Syrian-Saudi relations that befits the long shared history between the two countries," Al-Shaibani wrote on X.

That al-Shaibani chose Saudi Arabia as the destination for his first official visit sent "a message of normalization of the new authorities in Damascus in a really big way," H.A. Hellyer, senior associate fellow at Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security, told Al-Monitor.

Saudi Arabia "is also the country that has promised a great deal of support in terms of aid rebuilding. So I think it's quite significant," he added.

Al-Shaibani's visit also followed comments by al-Sharaa to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya last week that the kingdom would have a "large role" to play in Syria's future. He said Syria held "a big investment opportunity for all neighboring countries."

Syria's new leader said in the same interview that the toppling of Assad is a win for the Arab Gulf and a setback for Iran, a close backer of the former regime over the last five and a half decades.

The visit comes amid Saudi humanitarian efforts in Syria. 

Saudi Arabia's King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, also known as KSRelief, established an air bridge on Wednesday to "alleviate the effects of the difficult conditions currently facing the Syrian people," SPA reported.

On Thursday, a plane containing "food, shelter and medical supplies" from Saudi Arabia landed in Damascus, SPA reported. It was the third such airlift providing relief organized by KSRelief.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah al-Yahya also visited Damascus on Monday.

Al-Shaibani invited Kuwait to reopen its embassy in Damascus. Qatar, which severed ties with Syria in 2011, Qatar's foreign affairs spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said it would reopen its embassy in Damascus "soon."

The Kuwaiti foreign minister was accompanied by GCC Secretary General Jasem al-Budaiwi, who also met with al-Sharaa.

Sanctions and energy supplies

The new Syrian government is also seeking support from the Gulf states to see the lifting of Assad-era sanctions on the country as well as the removal of HTS' designation as a terror group by the United States.

"On a political level, the sanctions were about Bashar al-Assad; he's gone. So they shouldn't be there and they should be removed," Hellyer said.

Syria will likely also look for energy supplies from Gulf states to replace those previously sourced from Iran, said Jasim Husain, a Bahrain-based political economist.

"Jordan is quiet; Egypt is saying very little. Qatar definitely can always help but Saudi Arabia is very important in many respects really," he said.

Following Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments last week expressing discontent over the recent events in Syria and calling on Syrians to resist, the new government is likely to continue to align itself closely with Riyadh to counter Tehran's influence.

"Iran's becoming the voice against change in Syria. It's a very complicated matter so Syria will dominate a lot of the politics, at least at the beginning of 2025. They know Saudi Arabia can help and they need to balance it with the UAE's position," Husain said.

Link: Al-Monitor