Syrian-Saudi slugfest

Almost a year to the day after Syrian President Bashar al Assad slammed Saudi Arabia and other Sunni US regional allies in a speech following the end of last summer’s war in Lebanon, the rift between Damascus and Riyad seems to be widening. Syrian Vice President Farouq as-Shara in a speech on “journalists’ day” attacked Saudi policy in the region. Saudi Arabia has responded with unusual candor, saying Shara’s statement contained “numerous lies and fallacies aimed at harming us.” The official news agency SANA has not released a transcript of the speech (Saudi Arabia is mentioned in but one line of SANA’s journalism day coverage). Memri has released an edited version.