Jane Kinninmont, senior research fellow at London’s Chatham House, said Saudi Arabia is more interested in the war in Yemen than the struggle against ISIS.
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President of the Institute of Religion and Politics Alexander Ignatenko believes that Saudi Arabia and Turkey tied up even before the start of the Geneva-3 negotiating process to create a single military command for a ground operation in Syria.
But Major General Ali Jafari, commander of the Guards, said such a move would be damaging for Saudi Arabia.
Rebel groups fighting Assad have received supplies via both Turkey and Jordan.
Iran, the strongest regional ally of President Bashar al-Assad, openly provides financial and military support to the Damascus government but denies having troops on the ground in Syria.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with Takfiri terrorists from various groups, including Daesh (ISIL), now controlling parts of it. “I look forward to discussing that with the Saudi defense minister next week – that and other kinds of contributions that Saudi Arabia can make”, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter told reporters at at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
The Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said that the humanitarian tragedy in Syria will not end until a “political solution that injects blood and restores stability to our world” is reached.
Iran and Saudi Arabia, led by regimes representing opposing Islamic sects, already are bitter rivals.
Speaking at a press conference held in the capital Damascus, Syria’s top diplomat said “we will resist any violations to our sovereignty”. While Saudi-led forces have made gains in various parts of the country, the Yemeni capital Sanaa remains in the hands of the Houthis.
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Western nations accused Syria’s regime of damaging the talks with its military offensive, and Washington on Thursday demanded Russian Federation halt its bombing campaign in support of Assad’s government. The Turks have also used the conflict as an opportunity to counter Syrian Kurdish groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group embroiled in a separatist struggle with the Turkish state for three decades. The Saudi offer may be welcomed by some of their coalition powers, but there is also undoubtedly concern about Tehran and Riyadh being involved in so many confrontational situations across the region.
