Russia Backs Tehran-Riyadh Rapprochement

A possible rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran would be a positive move for the region’s development and will help settle a number of conflicts, including the situation in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, Russian presidential envoy for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Monday.
“We think that if such major players as Saudi Arabia and Iran manage to bring their positions closer on the settlement of a range of disputed matters not only in their bilateral relations but also on the regional level, I would mention Syria, Lebanon, Yemen in this respect, it would be a very positive direction for general development,” he told the Middle East Conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club, TASS reported.
According to Bogdanov, the Russian side has repeatedly offered its mediation to the partners in Tehran and Riyadh, saying that Moscow could host meetings for them. “Naturally, our proposal stays on the table, but we express satisfaction that contacts have kicked off in Baghdad,” he said. “As far as I understand, four meetings have been held in Bagdad at the level security services officials.”
“There is a common enemy, a global challenge of international terrorism. I think that all our partners … are generally interested in the maximally effective efforts against international terrorism. And it will require collective approaches and agreements,” the Russian senior diplomat stressed.

Syrian Stance

Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad also welcomed the ongoing dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia aimed at mending bilateral ties severed in 2016, stressing that Tehran-Riyadh talks in Baghdad are key to stability in the region.
“We call for deepening this dialogue and support it, and we wish that it yields results as the situation in the [Persian] Gulf region can’t be stabilized without an Iranian-Arab understanding,” Mekdad said during an interview with Russia’s RT television.
“Thus, we encourage all sides to continue to hold such meetings to reach solutions that serve regional cooperation and construction within the framework of relations based on respect for sovereignty and principles,” he noted.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters, enraged by the Saudi execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, stormed its embassy in Tehran.
For years, the kingdom pursued a confrontational foreign policy toward the Islamic Republic, but since last year, the kingdom appears to have changed tack.
The two Middle East heavyweights have held four rounds of talks since April, including a meeting last December under the Iranian administration of President Ebrahim Raisi.
In an interview with Al Jazeera published on January 6, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran and Riyadh have so far held four rounds of “positive and constructive” talks in Iraq.
He expressed Tehran’s readiness to restore relations with Riyadh at any time, adding that Iran welcomes the reopening of the two sides’ embassies and consulates.
Commenting on the future of relations between Syria and some Arab states, Mekdad noted that there are many communications between Damascus and those nations with the aim of restoring ties that have been affected by the Syrian conflict and by the support given by some of those countries to militant groups fighting against the Damascus government.
“We are looking at the present and future with an eye full of optimism and we are happy with the visits made by some Arab delegations to Damascus and the visits we have made to some Arab states.”
He stressed that “We, as Arab countries, are concerned with reconciling things because this [conflict] would affect all of us.”