Logo Wide

Saudi Arabia Cuts Off the Path of Normalization with Assad.. Katerji Company as a Model

According to al-Modon, by blacklisting the Katerji company, Saudi Arabia has demonstrated that it is not ready to normalize ties with the regime.
Saudi Arabia Cuts Off the Path of Normalization with Assad.. Katerji Company as a Model

The member states of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC)  have classified the Katerji company, which is close to the Syrian regime, and its owners, brothers Hussam Baraa Katerji, among a group of individuals and entities belonging to “terrorist organizations.”

According to a statement by the Presidency of State Security in Saudi Arabia, 16 names and entities belonging to terrorist organizations have been classified, including the Katerji company and its two co-founders, the Katerji brothers, because they facilitated the fuel trade for ISIS and cooperated with other “terrorist” organizations such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanese Hezbollah.

Read Also: Lavrov Confirms Common Position on Syria Return to Arab League

Pro-Saudi analyst Darwish Khalifa told Al-Modon that the unprecedented step indicates “the firmness of the Saudi position on its position on the Syrian regime. It shows that Saudi Arabia is not about to change its position on the Syrian regime.”

“This comes in response to what is being circulated about Riyadh’s approval of the regime’s return to the Arab League,” Khalifa added.

The editor of the Al-Iqtissadi Website, Younes Al-Karim, believes that the Saudi move marks the return of Riyadh to the Syrian portfolio after a long period of withdrawal from this arena.

Karim told Al-Modon that the Katerji Company is managing the trade exchange between the Syrian regime and the former ISIS organization, and currently SDF.

The step coincided with the current rapprochement between the SDF, the regime and Iran, following the Turkish threats to launch a military operation in northern Syria.

 

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

Helpful keywords