No place for 'revenge' in Arab politics, says former Syrian political adviser

Ali Al Ahmed says Prince Faisal’s visit and the thawing of ties with Saudi Arabia offers hope for region

Syria's President Bashar Al Assad, right, receives Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Damascus on April 18. AFP

There is no place for a “revenge mentality” in the decisions of Arab states on relations with the Syrian regime, a former Damascus political adviser told The National.

Ali Al Ahmed, who was an adviser to the Syrian Information Ministry between 2013 and 2020 and now works for a Moscow-based think tank, said that the Arab League was not as powerful without all of its members.

On Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad met Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Damascus in the latest step to improve relations. It was the first Saudi official visit to Syria since 2011.

The two discussed the path to a comprehensive political settlement to end the Syrian crisis, national reconciliation and the resumption of Syria’s role in the Arab world, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in 2011, months into a crackdown on protests that morphed into a brutal civil war which rages more than a decade later and has cost thousands of lives.

Two Arab countries, Qatar and Kuwait, still have reservations about Syria rejoining.

But Mr Al Ahmed said the thawing of tensions with Saudi Arabia offered hope.

“Just like no one imagined there would be a resumption of relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, there could be similar steps with Qatar and Kuwait,” he said.

Prince Faisal’s visit came a week after Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad visited Jeddah and the two sides agreed to resume consular services and flights after normalising ties.

Mr Mekdad, who also recently visited Algeria and Tunisia, has said his country’s return to the Arab League would be “almost impossible before correcting bilateral relations”.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah meets with Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Mekdad in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 12, 2023. Saudi Press Agency.

Mr Al Ahmed says conditions cannot be placed on Syria for the resumption of relations.

“Dictating terms … is something that the Syrian government would not accept,” he said.

The Saudi visit on Tuesday came days after the kingdom hosted a meeting of nine Arab nations focused on ending Syria's isolation at a time of fast-paced diplomatic shifts across the region.

“I don’t see rapprochement between Syria and certain Arab states as an abnormal step,” said Mr Al Ahmed.

“On the contrary, I found it strange when there was rivalry in the region between some Arab states and Syria.”

A “black or white” mentality was predominant in the political sphere which created the tense relations over the past decade, he said.

Calls by some Arab states to change the Syrian government were “unacceptable”, he added.

“Arab states realised that it was fruitless calling for a change which could have dangerous consequences on the region as a whole, not just Syria.” Mr Al Ahmed said.

The meeting was important not just for bilateral relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, it could also have an impact on the whole region, he said.

“Syria could play an important role in bridging the relations between Arab states as a whole and Iran, Russia and China,” Mr Al Ahmed said.