BEIRUT: Moscow has rejected a Saudi proposal to abandon Syria’s president in return for a huge arms deal and a pledge to boost Russian influence in the Arab world, diplomats have said.
On July 31, President Vladimir Putin, a strong backer of Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad, met Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, after which Moscow and Riyadh kept a lid on the substance of talks. “Every two years, Bandar bin Sultan meets his Russian counterparts, but this time, he wanted to meet the head of state,” said a European diplomat who shuttles between Beirut and Damascus.
“During the meeting at the Kremlin, the Saudi official explained to his interlocutor that Riyadh is ready to help Moscow play a bigger role in the Middle East at a time when the US is disengaging from the region,” the diplomat said.
Prince Bandar proposed that Saudi Arabia buy $15bn of weapons from Russia and invest “considerably in the country,” the source said.
He also reassured Putin that “whatever regime comes after” Assad, it will be “completely” in the Saudis’ hands and will not sign any deal allowing any Gulf country to transport its gas across Syria to Europe and compete with Russian gas exports, the diplomat said.
In 2009, Assad refused to sign a deal with Qatar for an overland pipeline running from the Gulf to Europe via Syria to protect the interests of its Russian ally, which is Europe’s top supplier of natural gas. AFP
