Saudi Arabia: it is up to translate words over Syria into action

The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said Saturday from Tehran that Iran’s participation at the Geneva II conference on the Syrian crisis, scheduled for next month, was essential.

Diplomat sources revealed to Zaman Alwasl on condition of anonymity that the envoy insistency to reserve a seat for the Iranians in Geneva II, was behind refusing his request to visit Saudi Arabia, In addition to his personal support for Bashar al-Assad to stay until the end of his term in mid-2014, source added.

Brahimi arrived in Tehran on Saturday, as part of his Mideast tour, which started in Cairo last week, to prepare for talks on resolving the conflict. Over the past week, he was also in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Turkey, Associated Press reported.

From Tehran Brahimi said, “We believe that the participation of Iran in the Geneva conference is natural and necessary as well as fruitful, so we are hopeful that this invitation is made,” according to Press TV.

Saudis think that Brahimi's effort is no more than wasting time with mounting disappointment with the American policy as well the vogue diplomacy with Iran, which is a partner in Syrian bloodshed, observers said to Zaman Awasl.

On Tuesday, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former head of Saudi intelligence  in an interview with Al-Monitor, said, “It is up to the Iranians to show that their sweet and sensible talk is going to be translated into action, “  adding, “when and if that happens then there is a chance for the situation between, not just the Kingdom and Iran, but also between Iran and the rest of the world to improve.”

Prince Turki added that the kingdom has been direct in its dealings with Iran about the issues of tension between the two countries, telling its officials, “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t deal with us and then go and support somebody who wants to overturn us. And this is what they’ve been doing in Lebanon, this is what they’ve been doing in Syria, this is what they’re doing in Bahrain, and what they’re doing in Iraq etc., so this is how we deal with Iran.”

Prince Turki explained Saudi Arabia’s consistent diplomatic approach to Iran and other issues, saying, “When something comes like denying the seat or not accepting the seat [at the US Security Council], everybody is surprised and taken aback and shocked. It doesn’t come from thin air. We never act impulsively. It’s a hallmark of Saudi character. We were patient for a long time, but when we need to take action, we take it quickly.”

The Geneva II conference on Syria is scheduled for November 23 and 24 and will attempt to get Syria’s rival sides to agree on a transitional government in that country based on a plan adopted in Geneva in June 2012.

The Saudi-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, has said in the past that it will only negotiate if it is agreed from the start that Assad will leave power at the end of a transition period. Many rebel fighters inside Syria flatly reject negotiating with Assad’s regime.

Mr. Ahmad Jarba, Head of the Coalition said recently, ''Let Geneva II fall'' in accordance to the Kingdom will.

Prince Turki al-Faisal

U.S., Saudi drift over Syria

Prince Turki al-Faisal voiced in Al Monitor interview “a high level of disappointment in the U.S. government’s dealings” on Syria and the Palestinian issue. 

Veteran analyst David Ignatius in deep insight for Washington Post said, The U.S. administration’ lack of communication with the Saudis and other Arab allies is mystifying at a time when the U.S. is exploring new policy initiatives, such as working with the Russians on dismantling chemical weapons in Syria and negotiating a possible nuclear deal with Iran. Those U.S. policy initiatives are sound, in the view of many analysts (including me), but they worry the Saudis and others—making close consultation all the more important,.

Saudi King Abdullah privately voiced his frustration with U.S. policy in a lunch in Riyadh Monday with King Abdullah of Jordan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the U.A.E., according to a knowledgeable Arab official. The Saudi monarch “is convinced the U.S. is unreliable,” this official said. “I don’t see a genuine desire to fix it” on either side, he added.

The Saudis’ pique, in turn, has reinforced the White House’s frustration that Riyadh is an ungrateful and sometimes petulant ally. When Secretary of State John Kerry was in the region a few weeks ago, he asked to visit Bandar. The Saudi prince is said to have responded that he was on his way out of the kingdom, but that Kerry could meet him at the airport. This response struck U.S. officials as high-handed, Ignatius said.

Editing by Mohamed Hamdan