Allies Saudi Arabia, Egypt In Rare Public Spat Over Syria

by October 11, 2016, 9:03 am

A handout picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on March 10, 2016 shows Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (L) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attending the Northern Thunder military exercises in Hafr al-Batin, 500 kilometres north-east of the Saudi Capital Riyadh. Warplanes roared overhead, tanks rumbled across the desert and smoke filled the sky for the final day of what Saudi Arabia billed as the region's biggest-ever military exercises. The 12-day "Northern Thunder" manoeuvres in the kingdom's northeast included 20 nations from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, Saudi officials said. / AFP PHOTO / SPA / STRINGER / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / SPA / HO" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ===

Close allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia are having their first public spat since Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi took office two years ago.

The disagreement is over Syria, where Riyadh says Syrian President Bashar Assad must be removed for that country’s civil war to end, while Cairo advocates a political process that denies Islamic militants any role in Syria’s future.

Egypt voted in favor of separate Russian and French draft resolutions on Syria at the UN Security Council over the weekend.

Saudi Arabia’s UN ambassador said Egypt’s stand was “painful,” a comment that made the front page of two Egyptian dailies on Monday.

Egypt depends heavily on oil-rich Saudi Arabia for aid and investment.