After the Syrian president was first welcomed by Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, the deputy governor of the Riyadh Region, he flew to King Khalid International Airport on Sunday and was shown by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) meeting with MBS, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader.
Al-Sharaa was accompanied for the talks in Riyadh by Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani.
Osama bin Javaid, a journalist for Al Jazeera, said al-Sharaa made Riyadh his first stop to “make sure Saudi Arabia understands the importance this new Syria places it under”.
After a lightning advance across the country, Al-Sharaa led the Syrian opposition in overthrowing Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8. Since then, the new Syrian government has attempted to impose negative sanctions on Syria on a regional and international level.
However, concerns over al-Sharaa’s past membership of al-Qaeda have tempered support from some quarters, even as Syria’s new leadership emphasises regional integration and protections for religious and ethnic minorities.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, stated that his country was actively negotiating with Europe and the US to lift Syria’s economic sanctions during a trip to Damascus last week.
Bin Javaid said al-Sharaa’s visit intended to remind Saudi officials of that promise and obtain all possible help in rebuilding Syria’s infrastructure, government and institutions.
Additionally, the trip to Riyadh symbolises a “seismic shift in the country’s alignment and future relations” away from the toppled President Bashar al-Assad’s allegiance to Iran and Russia.
Last month, al-Sharaa told Al Arabiya TV that Saudi Arabia “will certainly have a large role in Syria’s future”, pointing to “a big investment opportunity for all neighbouring countries”.
Sunday’s trip comes after al-Shibani, Syria’s foreign minister, also travelled to Riyadh last month.
Source: Aljazeera
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