Saudi Arabia's Regional Role Disparaged

The Syrian media this week continued to attack Saudi Arabia for the role it plays in the region, specifically its stance on the Lebanese political crisis.



The pro-government newspaper Al-Watan published an article on May 18 predicting the demise of “the Saudi era”, and said Qatar was emerging as a new leader in the region.



Qatar successfully mediated the peace deal between rival Lebanese factions this week.



Al-Watan said Saudi Arabia’s partisan stance meant its attempts to host dialogue and act as mediator for other Arab states were a failure.



The newspaper said the Saudis were clearly biased toward the March 14 movement, which opposes the Syrian-backed Hezbollah, and had tried to sabotage a settlement by encouraging the Lebanese government to reject proposals.



The political crisis has left the country without a president since November.



Cham Press website editor Ali Jamalo also harshly criticised Saudi Arabia in an editorial published on May 20.



Praising Qatar’s negotiations, Jamalo said “hatred” lay at the heard of the Saudis’ “stupid policies”. He accused Saudi Arabia of aligning itself with the United States and was working against Arabs and their strategic interests.