Yesterday, Saudi King Fahd received in Riyadh, Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam and Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa, who arrived in the Saudi capital in a surprise visit that followed a visit Al-Sharaa made to Qatar, where he delivered its Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, a message related to bilateral relations, after... A day after Qatar announced that it expects Israel to participate in the Middle East and North Africa Economic Conference scheduled to be held in Doha next November.
A Syrian diplomatic source in Riyadh said that Fahd discussed with Khaddam and Al-Sharaa the difficulties facing the settlement process. They handed him a message from President al-Assad centered around the faltering peace process and bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said that the message “relates to the situation in the region, the peace process, and issues of common interest.” The meeting was attended by Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Saudi National Guard, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation, and Saudi Inspector General, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Royal Court. The head of the Royal Court, Muhammad Al-Nuwais, the Minister of State and Member of the Saudi Council of Ministers, Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Khowaiter, and the Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic to Saudi Arabia, Mr. Omar Al-Sayyed. Khaddam had arrived in Riyadh from Damascus shortly after Al-Sharaa arrived there from Doha
Damascus recently called for the postponement of the fourth economic conference scheduled to be held in Doha on November 16, which Doha opposed. Saudi Arabia supports the Syrian position on the settlement process
Al-Sharaa visited Doha last January, accompanied by Khaddam
During the visit, Qatar supported the Syrian position on the settlement process and the continued freeze on normalization with Israel. The spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fawaj Al-Attiyah, said the day before yesterday that the economic conference “is purely an economic forum and that Qatar expects Israel to participate in it.” But he added, "All things are linked to developments on the political front." Government and business leaders from the Middle East and North Africa are expected to meet in Doha on November 16 for a three-day “economic summit,” the fourth summit since the start of settlement talks in 1991.
In April, the League of Arab States recommended that the Arab countries stop normalization with Israel and return to its economic boycott