05 March 2005	Saturday	23 Muharram 1426

RIYADH: Instead of the support he sought during his unscheduled visit first to Qatar and then to Saudi Arabia, what Syrian President Bashar al Asad has received is a stark message from Riyadh to get out of Lebanon immediately.

He also failed to gain support for a face-saving resolution at the upcoming Arab League summit in Algeria. Mr Bashar asked Saudi Arabia to get a resolution adopted at the summit asking for Syrian withdrawal from Beirut. Crown Prince Abdullah rejected the request saying not much time was left for manoeuvring.

The tone was not in line with the traditional Saudi diplomacy. They avoid taking extreme positions, especially when it comes to Arab states. Indeed Syria is getting increasingly isolated.

Even Russia and France have now openly asked it to withdraw form Lebanon. It seems Riyadh strongly believes that if Damascus does not comply with the Security Council resolution of last September, it will provide Washington with an excuse to use military force.

Riyadh simply does not want another Arab state targeted by the US as it will compound problems and give fresh impetus to anti-US sentiments in the region. Initially, Riyadh avoided directly blaming Damascus for the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri and urged patience and proper investigations. But now they seem to think that Damascus could not be altogether absolved of the responsibility.

Rafiq Hariri was very close to the Saudi royal family. Before returning to Beirut he had stayed in Riyadh for two decades, developing a business empire. He and his family in partnership were running a major Saudi contracting and trading house - Saudi Oger.