Zelinsky and Assad together at the Arab summit!

The most prominent event of the recent Arab summit is the return of Syria, led by Bashar al-Assad, to the bosom of the Arab League after many years of estrangement, but it is remarkable that it came in conjunction with a Saudi invitation to host Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as a speaker at the summit and give him space to present his point of view to Arab leaders. And the combination of the two was a strange paradox, as the first owes Russia the credit for remaining in his position, and the second is considered enemy No. 1 to it. Instead of focusing on the return of sisterly Syria, Zelensky grabbed the spotlight globally and reduced the momentum of the Syrian return. Was that intentional?

Since the start of the Russian/Ukrainian war, the Arabs, led by Saudi Arabia, have been able to crystallize a position called "positive neutrality" regarding the crisis, in contravention of the American and European positions. And they proved / that is, the Arabs / that they do not want to return to the Cold War pattern and its policies that divided the world with or against. For his part, Zelensky was clear in his choices for global allies, other than America and Europe, since the beginning of the war. So he sought help from Israel and his Judaism, delivered speeches in the Knesset and at the Hebrew University, and tried in every way to mobilize and stir up Jewish feelings from near and far, likening what Ukraine is going through to the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews. In many speeches, he expressed the extent of the organic interdependence between Ukraine and Israel and his desire for Ukraine to become like Israel. He even supported the Israeli war on Gaza in May 2021, and called on Israel to support him with weapons and to give up “killer neutrality” as he called it, but it seems that his desperate attempts came without success. It is useless, as it is clear that Israel has other accounts with Russia.

So what brought him to the Arab speculators and what was the reason for the Saudi invitation to him at this particular summit?

Saudi Arabia announced through its foreign minister that Zelensky's visit was to hear the views of all parties. Wasn't it better to wait for his visit until after the summit, and the Arab meeting remains Arab, especially since the region is overflowing with thorny issues such as Palestine, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, the reconstruction of Syria, and the frozen Moroccan-Algerian relations, and the list goes on.. In general, the implications of the Saudi invitation to Zelensky can be deduced in two directions:

The first: It comes as a continuation of Saudi efforts to restore its global image as a country that seeks regional and international peace and openness to change the stereotype that has been attached to it in the West since the killing of Khashoggi, and to prove its position as a mediator that can make a difference and achieve achievement in difficult cases. This was proven when it succeeded in mediating between the Ukrainians and the Russians to release some prisoners. This global Saudi trend coincides with an active regional trend to reposition the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East region as a leading and active country in the region that has strong and good relations with its neighbors, which began with the restoration of relations with its archenemy Iran, efforts to end the Yemen war, its role in evacuating civilians from Sudan, and its delegations sent to Libya and Syria to resume opening the Saudi embassy in the two countries.

As for the second: it is within the framework of the American and international rejection of the Syrian return to the Arab League. Washington criticized the resumption of Arab-Syrian relations, and the US State Department announced that Syria does not deserve to return to the Arab League. The Congress, which adopts a hardline stance on Syria and many of its members hold negative views towards Saudi Arabia, also began issuing a law that prevents normalization with Syria, and even calls for increased imposition of sanctions on Assad regime. Accordingly, Zelensky's call, supported by the United States and internationally, came to balance between the two matters and within the framework of the game of international accommodation between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

In the end, a weeping Zelensky spoke at the Arab summit, accusing some Arabs, with all insolence, of turning a blind eye to the Russian aggressions. Can we ever see the European Union or the G7 Summit allowing the Palestinian leadership to deliver a speech about the Israeli aggressions against our people?

Or at least the return of Syria to the Arab League is the most important.

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