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Syria’s Assad may visit Riyadh before May 19 Arab League summit — expert

Analyst Nidal Sabi opined that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud "has set a course to resolve conflict situations in the region against the will of the United States"

BEIRUT, May 8. /TASS/. The probability of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s visit to Riyadh increased significantly after the Arab League Council decided to restore Damascus’ full membership in this regional association, Lebanese analyst Nidal Sabi told TASS.

"There is information from reliable sources in Riyadh and Damascus that such visit may happen before the Arab League summit on May 19," he underscored. According to Sabi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud has "embarked on a course toward settlement of conflict situations in the region contrary to the will of the US, who has been fueling inter-Arab controversies and confessional hatred for decades."

According to Sabi, the Crown Prince intends to invite Assad to the meeting of Arab leaders in order to cement the "meeting in Riyadh as the summit of consolidation of Arab cohorts under the aegis of Saudi leadership."

"I believe that the Saudi Crown Prince is very close to his goal," he said. "Because, just on Saturday, nobody dared to predict that the May 7 meeting of Arab League Foreign Ministers in Cairo will be a success and will open the road for Syria’s return to the association following a 12-year hiatus."

The Lebanese expert speculated that Presidents of Iran and Turkey may be invited to Riyadh as honored guests.

"Their presence will mean that the years-long Sunni-Shia standoff in the region has come to an end, and the ‘Arab spring’ project, aimed to bring the Muslim Brotherhood Islamists to power, has completely failed," the analyst concluded.

According to Sabi, the end of the Arab boycott of Syria challenges the ability of the US and the EU to preserve the economic sanctions against Damascus.

"Their efficiency will drop significantly and the West will have to admit its defeat," Sabi underscored.

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Syria United States Saudi Arabia

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