Did Saudi Arabia start to climb down the tree?

Written by Nasser Kandil,

Apparently after the inclusive meeting of the two crucial poles in the Syrian war the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Saudi counterpart Adel Al-Jubeir the dispute is still present and big, Saudi Arabia is still sticking to its hostile position toward the Syrian President, and still puts this position an obstacle in front of any settlement that launches the political process under the ceiling of the UN resolutions, and that grants the truce and its provisions which exclude ISIS and Al Nusra another chance of life.

The one who observes deeply the announced American position may not find any fundamental modification in the American speech toward the Syrian President, but this does not prevent the American Russian announcement of the frequent understandings which were the basis of the international resolutions, the truce and in drawing its provisions and the mechanisms of their implementation, So did what happen of understandings were just illusions and assumptions, or were they understandings that presented to continue issuing various positions about an issue such as the Syrian presidency, as long as it was agreed that it is longer acceptable to consider it an international or regional conditional issue for the establishment  of common endeavors for making the settlement? it  means the right of each party to take the position which suits its politics and interests toward the Syrian presidency, provided that the recognition of that the cooperation to produce international initiatives for the political solution or for the war on terrorism is no longer acceptable to link it with the foreign position toward the Syrian presidency, which was agreed from the perspective of decision not an opinion, that it is an issue that is decided by the Syrians themselves, either through understandings produced by negotiation, or if this was disabled and it is actually impossible then through the ballot boxes which will lead to the election of the constitutional positions according to new constitution that is produced by the political process which belongs to the Syrians as well, while the abroad will have the right of perseverance and the proposal in it, as Russia is doing about presenting  proposals for a new constitution for Syria, so does what is applied on America applies on Saudi Arabia, thus its speech about the Syrian presidency has become an opinion not a condition, from an external position to cooperate in making solution?

What makes this possibility is probable is a set of indicators that accompany the escalated Saudi speech about the Syrian presidency. Saudi Arabia which was describing the Russian military positioning in Syria as the aggression and the occupation according to what accompanied it of what is known the storm of Sukhoi, and promised that it will impose the appropriate punishment and response, moreover it foreshadowed Russia of another Afghanistan, now its Foreign Minister is declaring the appreciation of the effective role of Moscow in making the settlement and the political solution, as well as reserving the stability in Syria. Saudi Arabia which was insisting on the exclusive representation of the group of Riyadh of the Syrian opposition agreed in Moscow on a prompt dialogue by this opposition with the other opposition components especially the Kurdish ones, and the components which are supported by each of Moscow and Washington.  The leaders of the group of Riyadh announced that the goal of these dialogues is to expand the negotiating delegation to become more representative. Saudi Arabia which waged a political diplomatic and media war to improve the image of Al Nusra front and to present it as an inevitable partner to win in the war on ISIS, and as a required component in the partnership with the political process, agreed even reluctantly on Munich and Vienna statements which put the Al Nusra outside the truce’ provisions and the political process, and which link their fate with the fate of ISIS. More importantly, Saudi Arabia has witnessed the American demand of extending the term which it agreed on with Moscow for the disengagement between the armed groups which affiliated with the group of Riyadh and Al Nusra front, but Al Jubeir did not respond to Lavrov’s words about this extension and its goal.

Saudi Arabia is doing all of that while it raises its sound high about the continuation of the dispute with Moscow regarding the Syrian presidency, as it does in the Yemeni talks, its group screams about the withdrawal from the negotiations protesting on what they describe as the stubbornness of the other team, but they do not leave Kuwait, in contrast, they find the justification for the return, so did Washington succeed in drawing a roadmap for the Saudi climbing down the tree of escalation, and thus Al-Jubeir went to Moscow to take the first lessons in the first steps at Kremlin Ballet School at Bolshoi Theatre which Lavrov invited him to attend its first summer performances of the Swan Lake play as a special guest?

Translated by Lina Shehadeh,