Syrian President’s Visit To Saudi Arabia After 12 Years

The president of Syria arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Thursday (May 18), when he was welcomed by Saudi authorities.

A day after Bashar al-Assad’s arrival in Saudi Arabia, the thirty-second summit of the leaders of Arab countries was held on Friday in Jeddah. According to Saudi media outlets, Mohammad bin Salman officially welcomed the President of Syria prior the onset of the 32^nd summit of the Arab League.

The summit kicked off with a speech by Mohammad bin Salman and he said at the beginning of the session that we are pleased with the presence of Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, at the meeting of the leaders of Arab countries.

We hope that Syria’s return to the Arab League will help Syria’s security and the support for the country, he said.

Also, the subject of Palestine is the key issue of Arab and Muslim countries; an issue that is at the top of Saudi Arabia’s priorities, he noted, adding that the issue of Palestine is a focal point in the Arab world and we are working together to find a solution for it.

Bin Salman went on to say that we will not allow our region to become a battlefield; we have had years of conflict, which hurt people, and that we will devote our efforts to support for Yemeni parties to find a solution to the current crisis in their country.

Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmad Aboul Gheit, for his part, stated at the summit that we welcome the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and that the Jeddah meeting is an opportunity to revive Arab issues, which had been left to others for a long time.

During the meeting, Bashar al-Assad described Syria as the heart of the Arab community, saying that I thank the heads of delegations who expressed their deep friendliness for Syria. A joint Arab cooperation to promote our role in resolving crises and issues requires common goals and strategies, the Syrian president argued.

Assad further emphasized that we are facing a historic opportunity to reorganize the mechanisms of the Arab League with the least amount of foreign intervention. The reconciliations that have taken place are a historic opportunity to re-examine our own affairs without foreign interference, he mentioned, adding that the world must leave internal affairs to our own people; so, we reject any foreign interference.

The president also concluded that I hope the conference will mark the commencement of a new phase of joint Arab action for solidarity among us so that instead of war and destruction, we can achieve peace, development and prosperity in the region.

It is worth mentioning that the Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in this bloc in 2011 under the pretext of some political and security issues. Finally, after 12 years and following the failure of plots hatched to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad from power as well as the victories of the resistance axis in different fields, foreign ministers of Arab countries of the region agreed to return Syria to the Arab League during a meeting in Egypt on May 7.

The Syrian return to the Arab League and President Assad’s visit to Saudi Arabia created concern among the foes of the resistance axis so much that some Hebrew-language media outlets reacted to the promising developments, as they said that “This is the Arab League that has returned to Syria and not vice versa!”

The Zionists are of the opinion that with Syria’s return to the Arab League, the Arab Spring plot has officially come to an end and the issue of Palestine will once again become the main focus and concern of the Arab countries in the West Asia region and North Africa.

Read more: Syria Returns To Arab League After 12 Years