Saudi Arabia’s surge of diplomacy brings Syria’s Assad, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to Arab summit

Jeddah: Saudi Arabia hosted an Arab League summit on Friday in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to rally support against Russia.

Russian airstrikes have left a swath of destruction across both countries, but in Syria they came at Assad’s invitation and helped him cling to power through years of grinding civil war.

Several other Arab states have maintained warm ties with Moscow while remaining largely neutral on the Ukraine war. The odd pairing of the two leaders in the same forum is the result of a recent flurry of diplomacy by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pursuing regional rapprochement with the same vigour he previously brought to the oil-rich kingdom’s confrontation with its archrival Iran.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdom’s years long war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and led the push for Syria’s return to the 22-member Arab League.

The Saudi crown prince welcomed both Assad and Zelenskyy to the Red Sea city of Jeddah.agencies