Posted on 05/30/2026 7:57:47 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
When Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in December 2024, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa declared that he would embrace a “zero problems” foreign policy, in the hopes that would help break the country’s isolation and solve some of its economic problems. The prospect of a stable Syria enticed at least $28 billion in investment deals from Middle Eastern countries in 2025, and even more has been secured so far in 2026.
The continuation of that trend amid the current war with Iran has amplified Syria’s central geopolitical and economic pitch—that it can be a potentially transformational corridor for energy flows, commercial trade, and technological connectivity that links Asia to Europe through the heart of the Middle East. With the Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed and insecurity still high in the Red Sea, Syria is proposing to serve as a more direct land-based alternative.
Based on the timeliness of Syria’s geopolitical pitch, its finance minister was asked to attend a G-7 summit in May and Sharaa has been invited to participate in a G-7 summit in mid-June. The sudden elevation of Syria’s engagement with the likes of the G-7 speaks to the perceived significance of what Syria is offering as potential long-term resolutions to the problems generated by the Iran war.
One such opportunity was rolled out at an emergency European Union summit in Cyprus in April, when Sharaa positioned Syria as a solution to European energy security concerns. “Syria, which was once an arena for others’ conflicts, has today chosen … to be a bridge to security and a fundamental pillar of the solution,” he said, calling his country an “alternative and secure artery connecting Central Asia and the Gulf to the heart of the European continent.”
In Cyprus, Sharaa proposed activating the old and never-realized “Four Seas” project,
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
This is what happens when countries pull the crap that Iran is trying. An alternative is found, and the passage of time makes you irrelevant.
CC
I think that Syria and Iraq are linked by rail. I wonder how much oil could be moved to Syrian ports through Iraq?
I believe that Saudi Arabia is also building or planning to build a pipeline that leads to the Red Sea.
Not a chance. Syria is too politically and culturally unstable.
Wrong.
An alternative must and will be found.
RE: Saudi Arabia is also building or planning to build a pipeline that leads to the Red Sea.
Only to encounter the Iranian proxy — THE HOUTHIS!
Completed last year and currently operating.
Eilat.
Wouldn’t this help them become a more stable country where people have shit they don’t want blowed up real good?
Because Syria is so stable.
They are activating an existing pipeline
...audi Aramco is emergency-activating the East-West Pipeline to reroute crude oil exports from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the closed Strait of Hormuz. This 1,200-kilometre pipeline — built in 1981 as insurance against exactly this scenario — can transport up to 5 million barrels per day across the Arabian Peninsula, connecting the world’s largest crude processing facilities near the Eastern Province to the Kingdom’s only major export terminal outside the Persian Gulf.
I think we should just take the strait of hormuz.
Mexico is a good example of how that doesn’t happen.
Fair point, but it is a matter of degree. I went to Mexico city in 2023, I don’t think it’s wise to visit Damascus.
How many railway tank cars would a typical oil ship fill? Maybe they could make shipping containers with 4 flat sides and rounded corners. Ship them as container ships. Less danger of major oil spills with less access to huge oil ship holding tanks and accidents, Also, are there any nearby major oil pipelines. Is there possibility of a relatively low level line between the Red Sea and UAE, Qatar, and others that would make it feasible to have pipelines or in some cases channel across Saudi Arabia and through some passageways across Jordan and Turkey to Europe?
The pipeline is already there. It is being scaled up.
I made some kind of mistake when asking my question of #4. See my questions at #18,
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.