CAIRO (AP) – Egypt and Saudi Arabia are cooperating militarily to thwart a power grab in Yemen by Shiite rebels, but the agreement on how to deal with the region’s complex and intertwined conflicts may stop there. The two countries’ diverging interests were evident at the Arab summit over the weekend, particularly over the crises in Syria and Libya.
In Syria’s civil war, Saudi Arabia has staunchly stuck by its demands for President Bashar Assad’s removal. In a speech to the summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Saudi King Salman railed against “those with blood on their hands” and said he cannot be any part of a resolution to the war, now in its fifth year.
In contrast, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in his speech urged a political solution, pointing to the need to “confront terrorist organizations” and prevent the collapse of Syrian state institutions. He said Egypt would host a conference of Syria’s opposition aimed at unifying its position for political talks.
The speech reflected what el-Sissi has made his top priority since rising to office last year – fighting Islamic militants. Egypt’s rhetoric has emphasized the need to preserve Syria as a bulwark against terrorists over the need to remove Assad, though the government has avoided saying that outright. On Friday, a government official told The Associated Press that the Egyptian stance is that Assad’s regime “must be part of the negotiations and the transitional period.”
“It is not about personalities,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the diplomatic efforts.