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Saudi policemen torturing a man
RIYADH, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Saudi
Arabia thinks Syria has not delivered enough to deserve
Western diplomatic overtures and fears international
rapprochement would do little to cut Damascus' links with
Iran, diplomats and analysts say.
They also say that Saudi rancour towards
Syria and its president Bashar al-Assad may be blinding
Riyadh to the possibilities of dialogue with Damascus.
A U.S. official said this month Washington
is assessing its policy of trying to isolate Syria. The
review in U.S. policy follows a recent rapprochement between
France and Syria, with President Nicolas Sarkozy visiting
Damascus last month.
In a sign of a possible thaw, U.S. Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice met Syrian Foreign Minister Walid
al-Moualem on the sidelines of the United Nations General
Assembly at the end of last month -- their third meeting in
18 months.But a Western diplomat
said those moves were unlikely to change thinking in Riyadh.
"The hatred they have in Saudi Arabia for
Syria is enormous. King Abdullah says Bashar 'broke an oath'
-- though what oath we don't know," said the diplomat, who
has experience of Lebanese and Syrian affairs.
He said Arab and foreign governments had
"underestimated" Assad, an eye doctor who was plucked from
relative obscurity in London to succeed his father Hafez
al-Assad died in 2000.
Assad made further overtures to Western
powers last week, issuing a decree to allow the
establishment of diplomatic relations with Lebanon for the
first time since the two Arab neighbours won independence
from France in the 1940s.
Israel and Syria have also begun a
negotiation channel through Turkish mediation aimed at a
peace deal. Israel has occupied Syria's Golan Heights since
the 1967 Middle East war.
Western powers think a Syrian-Israeli peace
deal could break Damascus' bond with Shi'ite Muslim Tehran,
whose growing influence has alarmed the United States, Saudi
Arabia and other Sunni-led Arab governments in the region.
However Riyadh thinks Syria, which is also
close to the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, does not
deserve to have its isolation ended.
"They think it's too early, the pressure on
Syria is not enough and Syrian behaviour does not yet merit
this change," said Mustafa Alani, a Dubai-based analyst
close to Riyadh. "The view from Riyadh is it's too early to
reward Damascus."
SAUDI-SYRIA TIES AT LOW POINT
Saudi relations with Syria sunk to a low
after the 2005 assassination of Lebanese former prime
minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was also a Saudi citizen.
A UN tribunal set to investigate Hariri's
death could seek to prosecute elements in the Syrian
leadership, who Western governments and their allies in the
region suspect of involvement in the killing.
Saudi Arabia is a key Arab backer of Lebanon,
mainly through support for the Hariri family's Future bloc
that represents Sunni Muslim interests. But Riyadh's
Lebanese allies lost to Hezbollah in street fighting earlier
this year."The Syrians are back as
the de facto power in Lebanon but without overt force
projection," said analyst Neil Partrick, adding Saudi
diplomacy was waiting for the results of the U.S.
presidential election and start of a new administration.
Jamal Khashoggi, editor of Saudi daily al-Watan,
said decision-makers were debating what tack to take on
Syria."I heard from Saudi officials
that Syria shouldn't be allowed out of its deadlock without
us being there, so they don't feel they managed to get out
of isolation on their own and then treat Saudi Arabia
arrogantly," he said.
"I don't think we should let the Syrians off
the hook. The king is personally unhappy with the regime
there. We can wait until a serious change happens in Syria."
The diplomat suggested the spread of
Islamist violence into Syria could complicate relations
further.
Syria says a suicide bomber was behind a
Sept. 27 Damascus bombing that killed 17 people. Lebanon
witnessed two attacks in Tripoli targeting the army and
killing 22 people. Damascus said the bomber entered from a
neighbouring Arab country.
If Damascus concludes there was a Saudi
link, "I'm worried they might try to do something here," the
Riyadh diplomat said.
Saudi Arabia is the home of an austere brand
of Sunni Islam called Wahhabism from which al Qaeda partly
draws inspiration. (Editing by Dominic Evans) |
