Alwaght- After several years of full-scale hostility of some of Arab countries to Syria, over the past three years they began de-escalation and normalization with Damascus. The UAE and Bahrain reopened their embassies in late 2018. Oman reopened it in October 2020. In recent months, direct flights from Damascus to Dubai and Sharjah started.
Also, evidence shows that Saudi Arabia is seriously pursuing reconciliation with the Syrian government and is eyeing establishment of a direct contact channel with Damascus. Even in the past months, visits were exchanged between the two countries' officials. On May 26, for example, Syrian tourism minister visited Riyadh in an official trip. Some media outlets revealed that also in May Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad secretly flew to Saudi Arabia for talks with officials of the Arab kingdom. On the opposite side, chief of Saudi General Intelligence Directorate Khalid Ali Al Humaidan visited Damascus and talked to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Ali Mamluk, the security adviser to Syrian president and head of National Security Bureau.
In an important development, some Arab countries have asked to participate in the reconstruction of Syria, and even in various economic, trade and communication fields, efforts have been made to cooperate with legitimate government of President al-Assad.
Recently, the Syrian Minister of Water Resources Tamam Raad met the UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazroui in Dubai. During the meeting, the Emirati side stressed Abu Dhabi's readiness to increase cooperation with the Syrian government in the fields of water and energy, transfer of experience in the privatization of important sectors, exchange of experiences, and support for investment projects in Syria and for the Arab country to become a tourism hub.
In addition, a meeting of the energy ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon was held on September 7 in the Jordanian capital Amman to consider the necessary measures to activate the agreements on transfer of energy resources among them. The main focus was gas and power transit to Lebanon from Egypt and Jordan via Syria.
The Arab openness to Damascus is important because it sends signals about end of hostility to Syria, acceleration of settlement of the 21st century's biggest crisis, and return of Syria to its Arab League seat. With the Western sanctions targeting any business with the Syrian government, announcing the readiness for reconstruction of Syria and ignoring the US-imposed Caesar sanctions comes with serious motivations. But what are these motivations?
Rebuilding the burned Arab bridges
Part of the Arab reconciliation with Damascus is driven by the gradual settlement of the decade-long crisis and Syrian government's restoration of control overall the country in the near future. The Arabs' show of interest in détente with Damascus is apparently an acceptance of the defeat of the project to undermine Iran-led Axis of Resistance through toppling Assad government using a litany of terrorist groups equipped by Arab and Western governments.
The Arab countries' relations with the legitimate government of Syria in the years after 2011, that is, after the beginning of the crisis in this country, unbelievably and unprecedentedly went tense. The influential parties, on top of them Saudi Arabia and the UAE, seized Damascus seat in the Arab League and gave it to Assad opposition.
Now, however, as the Syrian crisis draws to a close, Arab states are watching the pillars of political, military, security, and economic unity of the Axis of Resistance strengthening. This has led to widespread criticism among Arab politicians against their governments' antagonization of the Syrian government, which has led Damascus to become more united and closer to the Tehran and other Resistance members.
Political de-escalation with Syria, promises of participation in the country’s reconstruction, and possibly even the return of the Arab League's seat to Assad's government in the near future are all aimed at making balance with Iran's influence in the Arab world and the Tehran-Damascus strategic alliance. In other words, Arab rulers are making promises to Damascus to rebuild their traditional ties with Syria to make way for pursuit of their other goals.
Arabs preparing for adaptation to post-American order in West Asia
Shifting the approach on Syria is certainly related to the regional developments and the upcoming new order. Contrary to the initial perceptions of some Arab countries, especially the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, not only did Assad not fall but also after nearly a decade of fighting against terrorism, the legitimacy of his government is now at the highest level.
Defeat of the Arab monarchies did not take place only in Syria but also in Iraq and Yemen, two regional hot spots where terrorism and war failed to bring Riyadh and its allies any closer to their set goals. In the middle of this, the US is certainly withdrawing its forces from the region and the disgraceful exit from Afghanistan even speeds up this. In fact, the West Asian region is on the path to a post-American order, and in such circumstances, the Arab countries, understanding the new equations of power and security in the region, try to focus on de-escalation with the Resistance camp. Now the Arab states believe that they should review utter reliance on the US in their foreign policy.
Opposition to Muslim Brotherhood axis
The influence of the Muslim Brotherhood camp, politically led by Turkey and funded by Qatar, is a cause of concern for Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Feeling threatened from expansion of domain of influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the region, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over the past years embarked on fully confrontational approach to the opposite camp. This approach led to a series of events, including Egypt coup, diplomatic crisis with Qatar, and Saudi and Emirati compromise of the Turkish financial system and foreign currency market. Therefore, the two countries plan a rapprochement with Damascus to shore up anti-Muslim Brotherhood front as they know that Assad government sees Ankara as an interventionist and occupational party in the Syrian crisis.
