Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar Still Insist on Ouster of Syrian Gov’t: Analyst

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Ahmed al-Hajj pointed to recent visits by the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem to regional countries, including Oman, and said despite some media reports about the possibility of talks between Syria and Saudi Arabia, it is unlikely that Muallem will meet with his Saudi counterpart in the near future.

“… Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are still making attempts to destroy Syria and overthrow the country’s government,” the senior analyst said.

Earlier this week, Syria’s Al-Watan daily said that Muallem’s Thursday visit to Oman was his “first visit to an Arab state in nearly four years” and that a meeting among top diplomats from Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia was likely to be held in the Omani capital.

Muallem had also paid a two-day visit to Tehran where he met with Iranian officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visiting special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with Takfiri terrorists from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) currently controlling parts of it, mostly in the east.

According to the United Nations, more than 220,000 people have been killed and one million wounded during the conflict.

In the meantime, Iran has remained a close ally of Syria and supports its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.