Saudi
Arabia has warned it has been forced to go its own way in foreign policy as its
Western allies seek diplomatic solutions to the war in Syria and crisis with
Iran.
Saudi
Arabia’s ambassador to London said US-led diplomacy in the region was risking
the stability of the Middle East.
Mohammed
bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz al-Saud said his country is determined to independently
arm Syria rebels and could not stand idly by while thousands of children were
being killed by Syria’s regime.
Despite
almost a century of friendly ties with countries such as Britain and America,
the oil rich monarchy can no longer follow its allies as they pursue diplomacy
with its Middle Eastern enemies.
“We
believe that many of the West’s policies on both Iran and Syria risk the
stability and security of the Middle East,” he wrote in the New York Times.
“The West has allowed one regime to survive and the other to continue its
program for uranium enrichment, with all the consequent dangers of
weaponization.”
The
comments come as Syria opposition officials report that Western diplomats have
privately said that next month’s peace talks may not lead to the removal of
President Bashar al-Assad from power.
At a summit of opposition backers in
London last week, the opposition was told that the transitional arrangements
must preserve key parts of the current regime.
“Our
Western friends made it clear in London that Assad cannot be allowed to go now
because they think chaos and an Islamist militant takeover would ensue,” said
one senior member of the opposition said.
High
level warnings from Saudi royals over the West’s betrayal of previously shared
foreign policy goals have also included demands for the Gulf countries to have
a seat at negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
Prince
Turki al-Faisal, a former head of Saudi intelligence, said Riyadh felt the US
and its allies had worked behind its back to achieve a diplomatic accord with
Iran.
“It
is important for us to sit down at the same table,” he said. “We have been
absent.”
Prince
Turki added that the US had “given the impression” it would take actions
against Syria but had subsequently not delivered.
Saudi
Arabia still expects its allies to challenge the two regimes over the bloodshed
in Syria but is finding that West is refused to take action, Prince Mohammad
added.
As a result Saudi Arabia would take its own approach to the conflict,
and orchestrate its own financial and military strategy of support to the Syrian
rebels.
“To
do otherwise is to walk on by, while a humanitarian disaster and strategic
failure continue to fester,” Prince Mohammad wrote.
Julian
Barnes-Dacey, a Syria expert at the European Council for Foreign Relations,
said the Saudi leadership viewed support for the Syrian rebels and overthrow of
the Iranian-aligned Syrian regime as vital for its own security.
“There is
broad consensus on the need to push hard on Syria because they don’t want the
Iranians to gain the upper hand,” he said. “Saudi Arabia is upping its game to
help the rebels on the ground.
This is not just empty talk but is an appeal to
the West to stand alongside them as they look to change the end game.”
