Syrian-Saudi Contacts Freeze as Egypt Reportedly has Reservations over Damascus” Negative Role
Halt in contacts between Damascus and Riyadh over Lebanon has made it almost impossible for a summit between Syrian President Bashar Assad and Saudi King Abdullah to be held in Damascus on Monday.
Syrian sources told As-Safir newspaper that exchange of ideas between Riyadh and Damascus was ongoing, "but so far did not reach a level where a (cabinet line-up) could be announced."
The sources denied that preparations were underway for a Saudi-Syrian summit to be held in Damascus on Monday. They did not rule out, however, an Assad-Abdullah summit at a later stage.
Meanwhile, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted well-informed Egyptian sources as saying that Cairo "feels uncomfortable toward … attempts to force PM-designate Saad Hariri to make concessions beforehand, least of which is a visit to Damascus prior to cabinet formation."
The Egyptian sources said Cairo supports further Syrian-Saudi rapprochement. However, they said recent contacts showed that Damascus was not keen on restoring Arab unity or even achieve progress with regards to the Lebanese and Palestinians dossiers.
They said latest contacts, instead, showed a "Syrian attitude that barters every proposed step with a list of demands and conditions that only serves the narrow interests of Syria, particularly with regards to Lebanese affairs."
The sources said Syrian demands aim at strengthening the Lebanese Opposition stance.