Press TV - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is to pay a working visit to Saudi Arabia, the latest country long�at odds over Syria which seems to be coming to terms with President Bashar al-Assad at the helm.�

Lavrov will�be visiting Saudi Arabia and Jordan on September 9-11,�Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. He will be received by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Jeddah and will have talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.

The Saudis hosted a meeting of Syrian opposition factions last month, pushing for an accord between the main anti-Assad group that Riyadh has backed,�the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), and�two other blocs closer to Moscow.

A Saudi shift would mark a fresh blow to militants who have seen Assad regain control of much of the country in the past two years.

Lavrov was in the Persian Gulf last week for a tour that included a stop in Qatar, another major backer of the militants. He said that while differences remain, there�s overall interest in ending the war.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump�s administration allegedly ended a military aid program for the militants. Turkey, another key backer of the militants, has also come round to working with Russia and Iran toward a ceasefire.

�Saudi Arabia may be the latest country to give up on regime change in Syria and fall in line with Russia�s successful campaign to shore up President Bashar al-Assad,� Bloomberg said.

It added that indications pointed to an incipient cooperation between the kingdom and Russia �over a settlement that would leave Assad in place for the time being.�

�I see a shift in Riyadh�s position,� said Qadri Jamil, a former Syrian deputy prime minister and one of the leaders of the Syrian Popular Front for Change and Liberation, one of the two other blocs.

The Saudis have steadfastly supported�the ouster of the Assad�government since 2011,�pouring arms and funding militancy in Syria. Assad's foes, however, are losing heart in the face of back-to-back government advances and realizing that they have to live with the Syrian government.

Earlier this week, the Syrian Army and its allies broke�Daesh�s three-year-long siege over�the strategic northeastern city of Dayr al-Zawr.�Elsewhere in the country, other factions have been pegged back into ever-smaller enclaves.

According to�Mustafa Alani, head of the defense and security department at the Persian Gulf Research Center in Dubai, the Saudis "don�t have a problem with the idea that the regime can stay.�

Yahya al-Aridi, a senior figure in the firebrand HNC,�said his faction was �worried� that the Saudis would reach an accommodation with Russia. �There�s a vicious campaign to rehabilitate the Assad regime,� he said.



Observers say one motivation for rapprochement with Russia is the Saudi desire to counter Iran's role in the Syrian victories.

Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement have played a major role in the military turnaround which is now favoring Assad. As the prospect of removing Assad recedes, his enemies are switching focus.

For the Saudis, �the regime is no longer an issue, even the president is no longer an issue,� Alani said. �The problem is the question of the Iranians on the ground.�

However, Russia sees Iran as a strategic ally in the Middle East. Analysts say Moscow�knows�well that any effort that undermines Tehran's role would eventually work to the Russian detriment, where the US and Israel would get�a chance to oust the Syrian government.