Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are lobbying allies in Europe to restore diplomatic ties with Syria’s government and ease sanctions, people familiar with the matter said.
(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are lobbying allies in Europe to restore diplomatic ties with Syria’s government and ease sanctions, people familiar with the matter said.
The push follows President Bashar Al Assad’s reintegration into the Arab League in May, marking a triumph for a leader under heavy US and European penalties for atrocities committed during Syria’s civil war.
Saudi and UAE officials have lobbied European Union counterparts at various levels for months, the people said. They have argued that diplomatic moves to end the 12-year conflict are futile unless sanctions are eased to help revive Syria’s collapsed economy, according to the people.
The officials also say an economic recovery might draw millions of Syrian refugees back to their homeland, easing pressure on neighboring countries like Lebanon and Jordan that are hosting them. That’s despite United Nations surveys suggesting that few refugees want to return to Syria.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is in France and scheduled to meet President Emmanuel Macron on Friday. While it’s unclear if Syria will be part of their discussions, the French presidency said they will talk about Middle Eastern and international topics.
Legitimizing Assad
Key EU nations including France and Germany have ruled out restoring ties with Syria, saying that it wouldn’t address the causes of the war and would reward a regime accused of massacring its own people.
“Let me be clear — the conditions are not in place for the EU to change its policy on Syria,” the bloc’s foreign-policy chief, Josep Borrell, said at a Syria donors conference in Brussels on Thursday.
He added that any shift would depend on Assad implementing political reforms and abiding by United Nations resolutions.
That position is supported by the US.
On Wednesday, Washington said it backed a decision by the Netherlands and Canada to initiate legal proceedings at the International Court of Justice against the Syrian government.
“Abuses are well documented, and the Assad regime must be held accountable for them,” the US State Department said.
The Syrian war has killed at least 500,000 people, displaced half the pre-war population of 23 million and abetted the rise of extremist groups including Islamic State.
Spokespeople for the Saudi and UAE governments didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hold on Power
The push adds to a string of developments that have reshaped power dynamics in the Middle East in recent months as Saudi Arabia becomes more assertive with its foreign policy. The kingdom’s reestablished relations with former arch-enemy Iran with the help of Chinese mediation, and worked to wind-down a conflict in Yemen.
More than decade ago, Saudi Arabia and the UAE joined a coalition of regional and Western states supporting rebels and opposition groups trying to oust Assad.
Their stance changed over the past few years as he consolidated his hold on power, in large part thanks to military help from Russia and Iran.
The UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018, while Riyadh restored relations this year.
One reason for Saudi Arabia’s new approach is to persuade Assad to curb the smuggling of Captagon — a drug that’s fueling an addiction scourge in some parts of the Gulf. Syrian groups have boosted the production and export of the amphetamine, ensuring a flow of hard currency into the cash-strapped government’s coffers and helping it fund its war operations.
–With assistance from Sam Dagher, Chiara Albanese and Alonso Soto.
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