The newly appointed President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, arrived on Sunday in Saudi Arabia for a historic meeting with Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The meeting took place at the Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, Syrian state media Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said.
This is the first official trip abroad by Julani since he came to power on December 8 when the Assad regime collapsed. However, he was not declared president of the transition government until last week, on January 29.
The day after he was declared president, he hosted the Emir of Qatar in Damascus, the first meeting with a head of state. These two meetings, with the Emir of Qatar and now the Saudis are important.
They are also symbolic in the Arab world. Doha and Riyadh have often held different views of the region in recent years. Qatar is closer to Iran and Turkey and has supported Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups, such as Hamas. Saudi Arabia has opposed the Brotherhood and is closer with the UAE and Egypt.
Julani’s trip, therefore, shows how he is moving between these two poles, from meeting the Qataris to meeting the Saudis.
Nothing is ever as perfect as it seems
Ostensibly, the two Arab countries have now patched things up. But in the Middle East, nothing is ever as perfect as it seems, as waters that still run deep separate Doha and Riyadh.
SANA noted that “Julani was accompanied on his first external visit by Foreign and Expatriates Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.” They have been holding numerous meetings since they swept to power on December 8. They have courted mainly Western countries. Now, they are courting the Arab states.
According to SANA, “Al-Julani and al-Shaibani were received at King Khalid International Airport by His Highness Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Riyadh Region, Minister of State and Member of the Council of Ministers Mohammed bin Abdulmalik al-Sheik, His Highness Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf, Mayor of Riyadh Region, Advisor at the Royal Court Khalid bin Farid Hadrawi, Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Syria Faisal Al-Majfal, Acting Director of the Region’s Police Major General Mansour bin Nasser Al-Otaibi, and Deputy of Royal Protocol Fahd Al-Suhail.”
“We held a long meeting, in which we perceived a real desire to support Syria in building its future and keenness to support the will of the Syrian people and the unity and integrity of its territories,” Julani said.
“We held extensive discussions and talks in all fields, and worked to raise the level of communication and cooperation in the humanitarian and economic fields.” SANA also reported that al-Julani said, “We discussed comprehensive plans for the future in the fields of energy, technology, education, and health, with the aim of achieving a real partnership that will contribute to preserving peace and stability in the region and improving the economic reality in Syria, in addition to continuing political and diplomatic cooperation to boost Syria’s role towards Arab and international positions and issues.”
Al-Arabiya also documented the historic meetings, although it generally did not report more details than the Syrian state media reports. Other regional and Arabic language reports also didn’t elaborate much on the meetings.
The Julani visit to Saudi Arabia is historic and symbolic. It illustrates how Saudi Arabia continues to command influence in the region as a key power. Julani was born in Saudi Arabia. He later lived in Damascus and then joined al-Qaeda before becoming the head of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria.
At the time, he was known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, his nom de guerre. HTS moved away from al-Qaeda but was viewed as a terrorist organization for many years. The US canceled a reward for Julani after HTS and other Syrian rebel groups overthrew the Assad regime.
