Special to WorldTribune.com

MOSCOW — After nearly two and a half years of a Sunni revolt, Saudi
Arabia has turned to Russia to end the war in Syria.

Saudi Arabia sent its intelligence chief to meet with the Russian
leadership in what could be the first direct talks on ending the civil war
in Syria.

Officials said Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, also head of the National Security Council, met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the terms of a ceasefire and the fate of the opposition to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“A wide number of questions regarding Saudi-Russia relations were discussed as well as the situation in North Africa and the Middle East,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov said the Saudi-Russian summit took place in Moscow on July 31. The spokesman did not elaborate.

Officials said Riyad has sought to bring about an end to the war in Syria amid the Assad offensive against Sunni rebels. They said Saudi Arabia,
which in May took over as the chief sponsor of the rebels, has determined
that the rebels could not overcome Assad’s military, backed by Iran and
Russia.

“It appears this was an initiative by Bandar, who is in charge of the
entire Saudi aid to the rebels,” an official said. “Of course, this was
coordinated with the United States.”

Iran has identified Bandar as the point man in drafting strategy against
Assad. On July 31, Bandar was reported to have met senior U.S. officials on
ways to support the Syrian rebels.

  Bashar Assad, Dmitry Peskov, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi intel chief in Moscow for talks on ending the war in Syria, Vladimir Putin