Saudi Arabia and Syria have agreed to establish ties and reopen their embassies after over a decade of not having formal diplomatic relations, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Unnamed sources told Reuters that contacts between Riyadh and Damascus gained momentum following the surprise Saudi-Iran normalization deal that was brokered by China. Tehran is a major ally of the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Syria in 2011 and threw its support behind the failed US-backed regime change effort. As it’s become clear that Assad isn’t going anywhere, more regional countries have been normalizing with his government, an effort led by the UAE, which reopened its embassy in Syria in 2018.
One source told Reuters that Syria and Saudi Arabia are “preparing to reopen embassies after Eid al-Fitr,” a Muslim holiday that will be celebrated on April 21 and April 22.
The US is against any normalization steps between Syria and regional countries as it occupies about one-third of Syrian territory and maintains crippling economic sanctions on the country. The Biden administration has even come out against countries upgrading ties with Assad as part of an effort to help Syria recover from a devastating earthquake that hit on February 6 and killed thousands of Syrians.
Human compassion is not the US strong point…
Neither is the US dollar in the future.
It’s amazing how BRICS can bring old nemesis closer together.
The US …. occupies about one-third of Syrian territory
All ME countries are perfectly able to work out their own differences. Keep us out of the equation.
US has lost its influence in ME…But it never admit it until exiting Syria would resemble that of Afghanistan…!
There is always a preceding event, perhaps this is it?
“Two helicopters have crashed in Iraq’s northern Duhok Governorate under mysterious circumstances, killing nine members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The fatalities notably include a close relative of the SDF’s top commander—giving rise to speculations about the existence of a secret air corridor between Iraq and Syria……..
…….The SDF released a statement on Mar. 17 confirming that nine members of its Counter-Terrorism Units (YAT) had been killed in the crashes, blaming bad weather.
The statement said the aircrafts were heading to “the south of the Kurdistan region of Iraq” in an apparent reference to Sulaimaniyah, adding that the mission was “to exchange security and military expertise.” The city is controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a rival of the KDP.
One of the crash victims was notably Shervan Kobani, a cousin of top SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.
The PUK has not confirmed whether it owned the helicopters. Party leader Bafel Talabani issued a statement on Mar. 17 extending his condolences and posted a photo of himself with the late Kobani. The PUK leader visited Hasakah in northeastern Syria and met Abdi in late Dec. 2022.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Mar. 17 that “PKK/YPG supporters have once again been caught red-handed by giving helicopters to terrorists.”
In a Mar. 18 speech before foreign diplomats ahead of the Nowruz holiday, Prime Minister Barzani said the helicopters “initially were purchased by a group in the PUK,” but then questioned how they had ended up being operated by the SDF. He also alleged that the KDP had not been informed about the flights in advance.
Meanwhile, London-based Middle East Eye has cited unnamed Turkish sources as saying that a total of four choppers “were rented through a local company by the US government and then were given to the PUK.”
The Turkish sources also alleged that Ankara “was able to track” the movements of both choppers, and that “such flights could only happen with the knowledge of the US government since US forces control the Syrian and Iraqi territory.”https://amwaj.media/media-monitor/mysterious-chopper-crashes-in-iraq-highlight-intra-kurdish-fractures
The drone hit a maintenance facility; helicopters perhaps?
We’re only occupying Syria for the oil and wheat… my foot. Israel calls the shots about what goes on in Syria and their world thankfully gets smaller and smaller by the day.
Meanwhile in Norway:
“Iranian and European diplomats have met in Norway for talks geared to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, Amwaj.media has learned. Multiple sources with knowledge of the recent engagement have confirmed that the discussions took place in Oslo last week.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior source in Tehran said Iranian top nuclear negotiator Ali Baqeri-Kani—holding the rank of deputy foreign minister—met with political directors from E3 (Britain, France and Germany) foreign ministries. EU deputy foreign policy chief Enrique Mora was also in attendance. Of note, US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley did not travel to Oslo while another informed source disputed Mora’s presence, saying that it was a meeting between Iran and the E3.”
I wonder if China was there?
Norway sure has been in the news nowadays https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/how-america-took-out-the-nord-stream
Interesting … and hopeful sign. Are they ready to defy neocon-ism and accede to multi-polarity?
According to Hersh, Norway was involved with the pipeline explosion with us. Perhaps they are playing both sides?
No pipeline = more $$ for Norway how is that playing both sides that sounds like they are playing their side.
Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday Riyadh’s position on the conflict in Syria has not changed and that there was no place for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the future of the country. (Reuters Staff, August 11, 2015)
Tuesday of what year, again?
Assad has his issues, but I doubt anyone who comes afterwards would be better.
Take THAT, Amerikkka and Israhell!
😂
It finally dawned on me how significant it is that the US started producing more oil than we consume just before Biden entered office.
Think about how that must have changed calculations for Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other countries that depend heavily on oil sales.