Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa has used the summit in Doha that began over the weekend to transform Syria’s standing in the region.
He has met with numerous leaders. Expressly, the Doha summit was designed to give Arab and Islamic countries a chance to unite and support Qatar after Israel bombed Hamas there.
For Syria, this is important. Sharaa is planning his trip to the US for the UN General Assembly. A chance to meet with Arab and Muslim leaders provides the Syrian president with an opportunity to showcase his country and its needs to friendly nations. It also gives him backing in his own problems with Israel.
“Sharaa said on Monday Syria supports the State of Qatar against the Israeli aggression, affirming that the source of any nation’s strength lies in its unity, while its division leads to its weakness,” Syrian state media SANA said.
It added that “Sharaa said in a speech at the emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha to discuss last week’s Israeli aggression on Qatar... that it is a rare moment in history that the negotiator is killed, and it is a precedent-setting action that the mediator is targeted.”
“In the same context,” SANA reported Sharaa as saying, “the Israeli aggression on Gaza continues, and it has been committing attacks against Syria for nine months.”
Sharaa added that “whenever a nation unites and stands together, its strength grows, but when it becomes divided, its power fades. I, along with the entire people of the Syrian Arab Republic, stand with the State of Qatar in loyalty to it and in support of the justice of its position.”
SANA noted that the summit opened in Doha “with wide participation from leaders of Arab and Islamic countries.”
Sharaa has spent the last day meeting with other Arab leaders. For instance, he sat down with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday. Turkey is a key supporter of Syria’s new government. The countries aim to enhance their defense ties and investment.
Further, Sharaa met on Monday with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. Interestingly, Syria occupied Lebanon from 1976 to 2005, and Hezbollah in Lebanon backed Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Thus, Syria cares deeply about stability in Beirut.
Sharaa also met with Gulf leaders, including MBS, Qatari emir
Sharaa also touched base with the crown prince and prime minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are both supportive of the fresh Syrian government. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince assisted in brokering a meeting between Sharaa and US President Donald Trump earlier this year.
Doha has been keen to invest heavily in Damascus. Qatar is a close ally of Ankara, and both countries are backing Sharaa. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia wants to make sure it has the same level of influence in Damascus.