King’s return reflects gravity of Syrian crisis

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah returned to Jeddah on Friday night cutting short his holiday in Morocco “due to the repercussions of the events that are currently taking place in the region,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
Saudi officials and political analysts welcomed the king’s decision to cut short his holiday to focus on the deteriorating situation in Syria, calling it a humanitarian gesture.
“This shows the king’s deep concern toward the security of Saudi Arabia and its people,” said Mohammed Tayeb, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s office in the Makkah region.
“We are worried that the worsening security situation in Syria will spill over to neighboring countries,” Tayeb told Arab News, while stressing the efforts made by Saudi Arabia to resolve the crisis peacefully.
“King Abdullah had tried to find a peaceful solution to the problem but Bashar Assad did not listen to his advice,” Tayeb said while condemning the Assad regime for killing more than 90,000 civilians.
“This is a great humanitarian gesture from our king that he cut short his holiday to stay with his people at these difficult times and find a solution to the crisis,” Tayeb said.
Jamal Khashoggi, political analyst and general manager of Al Arab channel, said the king’s return shows that Saudi Arabia is a planning to make a big move to resolve the Syrian crisis with the support of its allies.
He referred to Thursday's US announcement to supply arms to Syrian opposition forces, saying it is a major shift in the Obama Administration’s Syrian policy.
Senior US officials have refused to elaborate on the kind of military aid Washington plans to offer the Syrian opposition forces.
Saudi Arabia has consistently called for arming the Syrian opposition. Riyadh has stepped up its diplomatic efforts to convince Western powers to take firm stances on Syria following recent advances by regime forces, backed by Hezbollah and Iranian troops.
Khashoggi said Saudi Arabia has taken a firm stand on the Syrian issue from the very beginning. “It is not clear what are the Kingdom’s new plans for Syria, but all options are open to end the misery of Syrian people,” he told Arab News.
Khashoggi warned against Iranian expansionism in the region. “With the resulting enlistment of hundreds of Iraqi Shiite volunteers in the Syrian war overtly championed by Iran, the Shiite Crescent is liable to evolve into a political axis stretching from Tehran to Beirut via Baghdad and Damascus,” he said in an article.