Saudi anger at Russian interference in Syria

Senior Saudi officials told their Russian counterparts on Sunday that their interference in Syria will have “serious consequences” and might lead to a war with extremists from all over the world taking part, Almesryoon.com has reported. It has the potential to fuel discontent among Sunni Muslims worldwide, they claimed.

In another report, Reuters has said that the Saudis are sceptical about Moscow’s intentions for its involvement in the Syrian conflict.

“Russian interference will lead to a sectarian war and the Saudi Kingdom warns of serious consequences,” one official told Reuters. “Saudi will continue supporting moderate Syrian opposition groups.”

The remarks were made after a meeting held in Moscow between the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohamed Bin Suleiman, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jobeir, President Vladimir Putin and the Russian foreign minister.

Russia’s interference in Syria has aroused the anger of the Saudis, who allege that Russian airstrikes targeted Syrian opposition groups instead of Daesh/ISIS. The source said that Riyadh has asked Russia to join the international coalition against Daesh, which is made up of more than 20 countries.

The same source said that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad must quit, as per the conclusions reached by the Geneva conference held in 2012, which laid down a framework for peace.

See also:

Putin: Military operations will end with Assad army’s progress

Moscow, Baghdad hold first security coordination meeting