Saudi Arabia hits back at Syria in growing diplomatic spat

Saudi Arabia has rejected as "lies and fallacies" high-level Syrian accusations that its role in the Middle East was waning and accused Damascus of fomenting instability in the region.
The conservative Muslim kingdom, which has been trying to bolster its regional role, responded to criticism from Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Shara earlier this week with an unusually scathing statement.
"The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has followed with great surprise the distasteful statements recently made by ... Shara, which included numerous lies and fallacies aimed at harming us," read the statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) late on Thursday.
"The problem is not in the stances of the kingdom but rather in positions which have disregarded the unity of Arab ranks and worked for spreading chaos and turbulence in the region. "Those behind such stances do not have the courage to declare them. They believe that they can deceive the Arab and Islamic nation although their actions speak bluntly of their ill-intentions."
Washington, the kingdom's top Western ally, accuses Syria of not doing enough to stop Islamist militants from crossing into Iraq to fight US-led troops and of meddling in Lebanon to undermine its US- and Saudi-backed government. The statement which quoted an unidentified government official source signalled a new low in diplomatic ties already strained over Lebanon and Iraq.
"Talk about the paralysis of the kingdom's Arab and Islamic role does not come from a rational and prudent person, as this role is well known to everyone ... Perhaps Mr Shara had a slip of the tongue and meant by paralysis the policy he speaks for." In a speech at Damascus University, Shara said Saudi Arabia's regional role was "virtually paralysed", pointing to the failure of a Palestinian unity deal forged in the Saudi holy city of Mecca in February.
Shara said the outline of the Mecca deal had been hammered out in Damascus and hinted that its collapse showed either that Saudi Arabia was hamstrung or that the kingdom had lost the ear of its old ally the United States.
Shara also criticised a Saudi decision not to attend a meeting on Iraqi security hosted by Syria earlier this month. Ties between Syria and Saudi Arabia have been strained since the 2005 assassination of Lebanese former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, a close Saudi ally. Saudi King Abdullah, once close to Syria's Baathist leaders, was outraged by the murder in Lebanon, which was under Syrian military and intelligence dominance.
A UN investigation has implicated Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the killing, a charge Damascus denies. Saad al-Hariri, the late Hariri's son and political heir, who holds a Saudi passport, also criticised Shara's remarks. "We're hardly surprised that the genius Syrian diplomacy added a new catastrophe to the record of the regime that is replete with dissonant (policies) and diplomatic blunders," the anti-Syrian majority leader's media office said in a statement.
A political stand-off between Lebanon's pro-Syrian Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, which is backed by the West and Saudi Arabia, has further soured relations since last year's war between Israel and the Shia Muslim guerrilla group.
Riyadh is also concerned about the growing influence of Syria's Shi'ite Muslim ally, Iran, particularly in Iraq and Lebanon, where Shia groups are strong. Tensions appeared to ease with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's attendance of the last Arab summit held in Riyadh in March, but the latest exchange appeared to mark a downturn in relations. The next Arab summit is due to take place in Syria.
"Shara's claim that the Mecca agreement ... had been agreed in Damascus is an unforgivable insult to the Palestinian leaderships," the Saudi statement said. "God willing, every Syrian and Saudi is keen on maintaining and strengthening this (Arab) brotherhood, despite the abominable voices and their owners who will vanish in the wind."