Saudi Arabia opted to stay away from a meeting of four regional powers on the Syrian crisis on Monday, adding to a sense that the forum is unlikely to advance the quest for peace. The "contact group" of Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia was assembled at Egypt's initiative. But Egyptian presidential spokesman Yasser Ali and an Arab League official both said the Saudi foreign minister was staying away for health reasons, without saying why no one else was coming in his place.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also said Saudi Arabia, which attended a preparatory meeting last week, would be absent on Monday, but that it would join in future meetings. There was no immediate Saudi comment. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal underwent surgery last month, keeping him away from official business, but he has been represented at international meetings by Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah.
Diplomats and Western officials have been sceptical that the group can reach any tangible deal, particularly when it includes both Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, who have tussled for influence in sectarian conflicts across the Middle East. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have all demanded that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down, while Iran is his main ally and accuses states including Saudi Arabia and Turkey of helping the rebels who are fighting to topple him. Against that backdrop, some analysts said Egypt may itself not have expected much from the group and that Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's main aim may have been to put Cairo back on the map as a regional power broker.
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