Baladi News
President Donald Trump on Monday announced that Saudi Arabia "has now agreed to spend the necessary money" for Syria's reconstruction, briefly raising questions about whether the White House had secured additional funding from Riyadh to rebuild the war-ravaged nation.
It turns out that Trump, under fire for suddenly announcing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, was highlighting a commitment that the Saudis made several months ago.
An official at the Saudi embassy in Washington told CNBC that the kingdom has not made any major new financial pledge to Syria since August. That is when the State Department announced that Saudi Arabia had committed $100 million to a fund to stabilize areas of Syria liberated from ISIS militants by a U.S.-led coalition.
"The Kingdom is a major contributor to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, flying the second highest number of sorties against ISIS in Syria, as well as, donating millions of dollars for relief efforts there," a Saudi embassy official told CNBC in an email on Tuesday.
Throughout the weekend and the morning of Christmas Eve, Trump defended his decision on Twitter and tweeted barbs at critics, including Mattis, McGurk and Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Then came the tweet trumpeting the Saudi commitment to rebuild Syria.
"Saudi Arabia has now agreed to spend the necessary money needed to help rebuild Syria, instead of the United States," Trump said. "See? Isn't it nice when immensely wealthy countries help rebuild their neighbors rather than a Great Country, the U.S., that is 5000 miles away. Thanks to Saudi A!"
On Wednesday, the White House clarified that Trump's tweet was not meant to announce a new commitment from Saudi Arabia.
"The United States welcomes the contributions of all Coalition members to the defeat of ISIS in Syria, including strong past contributions from Saudi Arabia," National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said in an email. "As we look to future efforts to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS, including stabilizing areas liberated from ISIS, we will cooperate closely with allies and partners to share the burden of these efforts."
Source: CNBC