Saudi King leaves Damascus after "historic" two-day visit

Oct 8, 2009, 13:50 GMT

   Damascus - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz left Damascus Thursday ending his two day 'historic' visit to Syria, in which he held political and economic talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Saudi Arabia has called on Syria to take part in efforts to solve inter-Palestinian problems, support Iraq and Lebanon as well as cooperating to fight terrorism and extremism in the region, sources in the Saudi delegation told the German Press Agency dpa.

Abdullah arrived in Syria Wednesday, in a move hailed as a 'historical' and 'landmark shift' in diplomacy between the two countries.

Syria and Saudi Arabia are two of the Arab world's longest standing rivals, with the latter having close relations with the US and Damascus having been implacably opposed to Washington's influence in the region for decades.

Further tensions between the two states have flared because of Syria's close relationship with Iran.

'It was a positive visit and the talks were held in a amiable atmosphere. Both the Syrian and Saudi parties expressed their satisfaction with the talks,' said Waddah Abd-Rabbo, the editor of the semi-official Syrian paper al-Watan.

'The Saudi monarch's visit is expected to open up new horizons between these two influential countries, who play an important role in the region and the international community,' Abd-Rabbo told dpa.

On Wednesday, al-Assad awarded Abdullah the Umayya National Medal, the highest merit in Syria while the Saudi King awarded him with the King Abdulaziz Medal.

'In the past few years, Syria has been moving towards setting aside all differences and building common grounds,' Abd-Rabbo added.

Al-Assad's political and media Adviser Bouthaina Shaaban said that 'the Syrian-Saudi relations are in excellent progress, and there is a strong need to create an Arab atmosphere that can utilize the Arab capabilities to raise the voice of the Arabs on the regional and international arenas.'

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

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

   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.

Abdullah and al-Assad also witnessed the signing ceremony of an agreement to avoid double taxation between the two countries. The agreement is expected to boost economic ties between the two countries and encourage businessmen to establish more joint ventures.