Syrian-Saudi Relations Not Linked to Lebanon – Newspaper

The planned visit of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to Syria is not linked to the formation of a government in Lebanon, the pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said in a September 27 article.



The daily quoted unnamed well-informed sources as saying that the visit of the Saudi sovereign would take place whenever the time was suitable for the leaders of the two countries and independently of a settlement to the political deadlock in Lebanon.



Lebanese media said recently that the Saudi king was expected to visit Damascus shortly following an official invitation by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who was attending the opening of a new state university in Saudi Arabia on September 24.



Lebanese politicians have been attempting for months without success to form a government of national unity. Many blame Syria in part for the political deadlock.



Al-Watan said that the expected visit of the Saudi ruler was aimed at strengthening relations between the two nations and discussing regional issues.



The newspaper said that the two countries believed that Lebanese internal issues should be managed by the Lebanese themselves without external interference.



In an op-ed article in the same issue of the daily, Ziad Abou Shawish said that the visit of Assad to Saudi Arabia was a significant initiative towards improving bilateral relations.



While Assad could have sent a delegation to represent him at the opening of King Abdullah University, he chose to take a step forward in the interest of Arab nations crippled with many regional problems, the columnist said.



He added that unity between Syria and Saudi Arabia was necessary for strengthening Arab solidarity and overcoming disagreements among Arab nations.



Meanwhile, the pro-government website Syrian Days quoted unnamed sources at the Syrian embassy in Saudi Arabia as saying that the number of Saudi tourists coming to Syria has fallen by 20 per cent this year compared to 2008.



The article said that many Saudis have stopped coming to the country because of false rumours published by some websites that Saudi tourists were being attacked in Syria.



The article explained that some Saudis were arrested in Syria because they frequented “suspicious places” and practiced “immoral acts”, a reference to sex tourism.