The acting president of Syria landed in Saudi Arabia during the first trip

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The acting president of Syria made his first trip abroad on Sunday, going to Saudi Arabia in a move trying probably to point out that Damascus is moving away from Iran as the principal Regional ally.

Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with Al-QaidaAtterri in Riyadh alongside the Minister of Foreign Affairs of his government, Asaad Al-Shaibani. The two men traveled on a Saudi jet, with a Saudi flag visible on the table behind them.

Saudi state television deceived the fact that the first trip by Al-Sharaa, first known internationally by the name of war Abu Mohammed al-Golanimade Riyadh his first destination.

The new three-star flag in Syria, Tricolor, flew next to Saudi Arabia at the airport while Al-Sharaa in a suit and a tie left the plane. He was to meet the Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto sovereign, during the trip.

Saudi Arabia was part of the Arab nations that have paid money into groups of insurgents who tried to overthrow Former President Bashar Assad After the demonstrations of Syria in 2011 Arab of spring turned into a bloody repression. However, his groups found themselves beaten like Assad, supported by Iran and Russia, fought the war in a dead end in Syria.

This changed with the December Lightning offensive led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham from Al-Sharaa. The group was once affiliated with Al-Qaida but has since denounced its former links.

Al-Sharaa and HTS have carefully managed their public image over time since, the acting president favoring an olive soldier resembles the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the appointment of women to roles and to try to maintain links with Christian of Syria And the Allawite Shiite populations.

This also includes the maintenance of Iran and Russia largely over the length of weapons. Iran has not yet reopened its embassy in Damascus, which had been a key node in the management of operations through its self -proclaimed “resistance axis”, notably Syria of Assad, the Hezbollah militia of Lebanon and D ‘Other partners. Russia would like Maintain access to air and sea bases He has in Syria, but took Assad when he fled Syria during the advance.

These movements seem to reassure the West and try to raise the paralyzing sanctions on Syria. The reconstruction of the country after more than a decade of war will probably cost hundreds of billions of dollars, not to mention the needs of the Syrian people, of which millions remain depleted.

The Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, visited Damascus in January and said that Riyad had “actively initiated dialogue” to raise sanctions against Syria. Saudi Arabia, unlike the main Al-Sharaa allies in Türkiye and Qatar, restored links with Assad in 2023 alongside most of the Arab world. Obtaining raised sanctions could greatly contribute to cement their relationship.

Meanwhile, the Syrian interim government still faces challenges from the Islamic State group and other activists in the country. On Saturday, a car exploded in Manbij, a city in the governorate of Aleppo in Syria, killing four civilians and injuring new, reported Sana, citing civil defense officials.

The Syrian rebels supported by the Turks had seized Manbij in December, part of an Ankara push to secure Syrian territory near its border for a buffer area.

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The writer Associated Press Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.