Ahmed al-Sharaa, the temporary president of Syria, met with the crown prince of the oil-rich Gulf state on Sunday and expressed a “genuine desire” for Saudi Arabia to help his war-torn nation.
Images from state television channel Al-Ekhbariya showed Sharaa being welcomed by Saudi officials upon his arrival in Riyadh, accompanied by his foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman subsequently got Sharaa, according to the official Saudi news agency.
“We held a long meeting during which we felt and heard a genuine desire to support Syria in building its future,” Sharaa was quoted as saying in a statement on Telegram.
Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed and Sharaa talked about “methods to support the security and stability of sisterly Syria” and “methods to strengthen bilateral relations,” according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
On Wednesday, Sharaa, whose Islamist organization spearheaded the December ousting of Bashar al-Assad, was appointed as Syria’s acting president.
When AFP asked a Syrian official how long Sharaa’s visit would last, the diplomat did not answer.
Among the first to greet him on his official appointment were Saudi King Salman and his son, Prince Mohammed.
The Syrian authorities are counting on wealthy Gulf countries to finance the reconstruction of their war-ravaged nation and revive its economy.
In late December, Sharaa said in an interview with the Saudi channel Al-Arabiya that the kingdom would “certainly play an important role” in Syria’s future, highlighting a “great opportunity for investment”.
He told the channel he was born in Saudi Arabia, where his father worked, and that he had spent the first seven years of his life in the oil-rich Gulf state.
*
Email *
Website
