Saudi King arrives in Syria in a sign of improving relations

Oct 7, 2009, 14:04 GMT

Damascus - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz arrived in Syria Wednesday for talks with Syrian President Bashar al- Assad, in a sign of further improvement of bilateral relations.

Abdullah, who was accompanied by high-ranking political and economic delegation, was received by al-Assad at Damascus airport as well as a number of ministers and Arab ambassadors in Damascus.

Sources close to the visit told the German Press Agency dpa that King Abdullah's trip aims at discussing political and economic bilateral relations as well as regional topics.

This is Abdullah's first visit to Damascus since he took the throne in 2005.

Relations between Damascus and Riyadh deteriorated after the US- led invasion of Iraq in 2003 over Saudi support for the United States.

Syrian newspapers hailed the visit saying it contributes to enhancing Arab cooperation and solidarity in the face of increasing challenges and risks against the region.

'Arabs look eagerly to the Syrian-Saudi meeting with the realization that a meeting between Riyadh and Damascus has always been in the interest of the nation and the results were positive on various levels,' the Syrian paper Tishrin wrote in an editorial.

'Saudi Arabia and Syria are characterized by geo-strategic potentials that entitle them to push the nation forward to restore usurped rights and the occupied territories and build better relations with the region and the world,' said the paper.

Last march, Saudi Arabia hosted a summit in Riyadh to iron out relations among the Arab states. The meeting brought together Abdullah, al-Assad, Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

Al-Assad's visit to the Sunni kingdom marked a breakthrough in the bilateral relations, after years of strained ties because of differences over the Palestinian cause and Shiite Iran.

Syria backs the Palestinian Hamas movement, while Saudi Arabia and Egypt are aligned with the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas' group, Fatah.

Relations were also strained after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, who had close Saudi ties. However, Damascus has always denied accusations of involvement in Hariri's assassination.