- Title: SYRIA: Saudi King Abdullah flies to Damascus for diplomatic talks
- Date: 8th October 2009
- Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (OCTOBER 7, 2009) (REUTERS) (CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY) SAUDI KING ABDULLAH AND SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD GET OUT OF CAR AS THEY ARRIVE AT PARADE GROUND AND WALK TO PODIUM THE TWO LEADERS STAND ON STAGE FOR MILITARY REVIEW VARIOUS OF TROOPS PRESENTING ARMS VARIOUS OF ABDULLAH AND ASSAD INSPECTING GUARD
- Embargoed: 23rd October 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Reuters ID: LVAD5ZKHURMOUZ27NVIR9U4IW6HC
- Story Text: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah flies to Syria for talks with President Bashar al-Assad aimed at healing a rift that has aggravated Arab discord over Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah flew to Syria on Wednesday (October 7) for talks with President Bashar al-Assad aimed at healing a rift that has aggravated Arab discord over Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Lebanon.
Abdullah's visit to Damascus, his first as king, coincides with Syria's emergence from Western isolation as U.S. President Barack Obama seeks its help in his quest for Middle East peace.
Assad met Abdullah at the airport and took him straight to a presidential palace in the Syrian capital, Syrian political sources said.
Diplomats in Damascus said an understanding between the Syrian and Saudi leaders could help forge a wider Arab stance helpful to Obama's peace efforts, promote formation of a new government in Lebanon, and assuage the fears of Sunni Muslim Arab powers regarding Shi'ite Iran, an ally of Syria.
Syrian-Saudi ties froze after the 2005 assassination of Saudi-backed Lebanese statesman Rafik al-Hariri, whose allies blamed the killing on Damascus. Syrian denied any involvement Assad broke the ice last month when he visited Saudi Arabia and held two hours of talks with Abdullah, but has given no sign that he is willing to sever his alliance with Iran.
Syria, keen to stay on good terms with the West, may at least be ready to use its ties with Iran to stabilise the region.
Saudi Arabia, which has its own Shi'ite minority, has long disliked the alliance between Syria and Iran, which both back the Shi'ite Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and the Palestinian Hamas faction. Both groups oppose Obama's peace drive.
Syria's alliance with Iran dates back to the 1980s when it backed the Islamic Republic in its 1980-88 war with Iraq. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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