On December 2, King Salman of Saudi Arabia arrived in the UAE on his first visit to the Emirates since ascending to the throne, as part of a regional tour, including Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
However, King Salman’s arrival in Emirates hours after the departure of Egypt’s Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi proves that no indications of a close reconciliation between the two sides.
The Egyptian media platforms expected before Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi traveled to the UAE that there would be a summit organized by the UAE between King Salman and Al-Sisi to put an end to the differences between the two sides, which, to their disappointment, did not happen. However, this is an indication that the Saudi side is sticking to its position, especially after Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has recently announced his support to Bashar Al Assad’s army in the Syrian conflict.
UAE a mediator between Cairo and Riyadh
It was not the first time for the Emirati leaders to play the role of mediator between Cairo and Riyadh, but to no avail.
In November, before Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi confirmed officially his support to Al-Assad’s army, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited Egypt for the third time over the last six months.
According to media reports, the tension between Egypt and Riyadh and the possible means to mediate reconciliation between both countries was on the top of this visit’s agenda.
But, despite the Emirati attempt, al-Sisi has demanded a “clear Saudi apology for the violations made by Saudi Arabia against Egypt.
It is noteworthy that the first differences erupted between Egypt and Saudi Arabia on October 8 when Egypt voted in favor of a Russian draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council regarding the Syrian conflict.
During the same session, Egypt had also voted in favor of a French resolution for Syria, a move which Saudi Arabia’s envoy to the UN described as “painful.”
After that, tension escalated when Saudi Arabia’s oil company Aramco suspended its oil supply to Egypt in October and November. a situation that pushed Egypt to shift to Iraq for their oil supply.
Amid the current tension in relations, Egypt is trying to make new allies with Iraq and Iran, which are also not on very good terms with Saudi Arabia.
“Either the situation will remain the same until the two countries reach a common ground, or there will be an escalation in the tension,” said Tarek Fahmy, a political analyst.
