Syria’s newly appointed interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for his first foreign trip since his rebel coalition ousted the longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Mr. al-Shara landed at the airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, early Sunday afternoon. The new flag of Syria flew alongside the Saudi flag at the airport. Mr. al-Shara later met with the oil-rich kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, according to Syrian and Saudi state news media. The two leaders were expected to discuss strengthening relations and how to garner support for the lifting of international sanctions imposed on Syria, according to Saudi news reports.
The choice of Saudi Arabia for Mr. al-Shara’s first trip abroad was seen as a reflection of Syria’s shifting political alignments under the country’s new leadership: away from Iran, which was a key ally to the Assad regime, and toward the Gulf.
The trip follows a flurry of diplomatic meetings in Syria’s capital, Damascus, in recent weeks. Since the rebel coalition seized power in December, diplomats from Europe, the United States, the Gulf and Russia have flocked to Damascus to meet with Mr. al-Shara and to establish contacts with his government.
The outcomes of those diplomatic overtures will help shape the new political map of Syria and the power dynamics across the Middle East, a region that is being remade in the wake of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the collapse of the Assad government.
Iran has had its influence across the region sharply diminished by Israel’s wars, which have targeted Tehran’s proxies. Russia is confronting a serious challenge to its military strategy in the Middle East and Mediterranean after losing its main ally in the region, Mr. al-Assad. And Turkey, which backed the rebels, has emerged as a leading force in Syria.
While initially cautious about the Islamist factions that seized power in Syria in December, the Gulf states have since increased their engagement and support for Mr. al-Shara and his interim government. Early on, they urged Syria’s new leaders to demonstrate inclusivity and tolerance for the country’s diverse sects.
On Thursday, Qatar’s emir met with Mr. al-Shara in Damascus, marking the first visit to the Syrian capital by a Gulf head of state since the rebel coalition seized control. The visit underscored the interest of powerful Gulf Sunni rulers in shaping a post-Assad Syria under Mr. al-Shara’s leadership.
For Saudi Arabia, recent events have presented a critical opening to reassert influence in both Syria and Lebanon, two countries where the kingdom had once vied for sway and largely lost out to Iran over the past decade.
Saudi Arabia has been projecting support for Syria’s new government and calling for the removal of Western and European sanctions imposed on Mr. al-Assad’s government. Following Mr. al-Shara’s appointment as interim president last week, Saudi Arabia’s king and crown prince both sent congratulatory messages to Mr. al-Shara, wishing him success in leading Syria.
Mr. al-Shara has also signaled the importance of the relationship, giving his first exclusive Arab media interview in December to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya broadcaster rather than Al Jazeera of Qatar, which he has appeared on multiple times over the past decade.
“Saudi Arabia has a major role in Syria’s future, and I take pride in everything it has done for us,” he told Al Arabiya, recalling his childhood years spent in Riyadh before his family returned to Syria.
For decades, Syria was Iran’s closest Arab ally in the Middle East and a key player in the competition for regional influence between Tehran and Gulf monarchies.
After Syria’s civil war began in 2011, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were staunch opponents of Mr. al-Assad. Both countries closed their embassies in Syria in 2012 amid the brutal crackdown on dissidents by Mr. al-Assad, who became a pariah in the region.
But after a decade of war, Gulf attitudes appeared to shift as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sought to bring Mr. al-Assad back into the Arab fold — a move at least partly driven by a desire to curb Iran’s growing influence in the region at the time.
In early 2023, Saudi Arabia offered humanitarian aid to the Assad regime after a devastating earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. Later that year, Syria was readmitted to the Arab League after a decade of isolation.
But with the overthrow of Mr. al-Assad, Iran has been sidelined in Syria — and Saudi Arabia appears to have seized the opportunity to try to establish its influence with Damascus.
