Diplomacy is not empty speeches, nor statements delivered to be forgotten. It is no secret that the Syrian crisis has turned into a real test of the world’s ability to achieve peace. It is a test which many have failed, when they were satisfied by just watching from afar, leaving the Syrians between the fangs of sanctions and the darkness of the siege.
Supporting Syria today is a complex political issue, and part of the “new diplomatic engineering” which Saudi Arabia is mastering.
When Riyadh pushed the international community to rethink sanctions, it was practising the policy of the possible. It is an art which seizes opportunities when they are lost, and creates solutions when doors stumble. Saudi Arabia, which did not close its door to Arab issues, realised early on that sanctions, even if they seemed like a pressure tool, do not help in solutions. Instead, they exacerbate crises, and create a parallel economy which only benefits those who are skilled at living in the shadows.
But talk about supporting Syria does not stop at closed meeting rooms or the language of diplomatic statements. Saudi Arabia has developed a real support map which has gone beyond political slogans to field work. Then humanitarian and economic aid flowed, believing that countries are not built by grey positions, but by courageous decisions.
A hefty amount of 485 million Saudi riyals flew in to support the energy sector, because it was important for starting reconstruction to light up cities which were darkened by the war. Saudi Arabia also gave 308 million riyals for multi-sector humanitarian aid, because people cannot wait for political settlements to obtain their most basic rights in life. A whopping 160 million riyals were also given to support food security, because ambition cannot grow on an empty stomach. Hundreds of millions of riyals more were allocated for health, education and transportation. Saudi Arabia chosen to redefine its role as a responsible Arab power which sees security and stability as a long-term project, not a political deal for profit and loss equations. It called on the international community to ease sanctions, because solutions cannot be built on top of a blockade. It succeeded in pushing Washington to issue exemptions. It convinced the European Union to suspend some sanctions, because diplomacy is a balance which must be managed wisely and not a game of attrition.
Today, after all these efforts, the most important question must be asked: Where is Syria heading in the new regional order? The Arab world is no longer what it was, and balances are no longer based on old equations. If Syria wants to return to be effective, it has a long road ahead of it in political and economic reforms, but more importantly, it must find those who stand with it on its journey towards recovery.
Here, one fact is confirmed: Saudi Arabia was and will remain a maker of balances, and a bearer of stability projects, where the decision is sovereign, the commitment is moral, and the Arab role is present.
In politics, as in history, not all countries are able to rewrite chapters which the world thought were over, but Saudi Arabia is doing so, because it simply believes that the future is made.
[by Ali Aljodea in Elaph]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque