Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar who spearheaded country's hardline stance against Syria's Bashar al-Assad steps down as intelligence chief

His departure comes just months after he warned of a 'major shift' from U.S.

The move may help smooth relations between Saudi Arabia and Washington

Saudi Arabia is calling for more U.S. support for Syrian rebels



Stepping down: Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan has resigned his position as the country's intelligence chief

Saudi Arabian Prince Bandar bin Sultan who led the country's hardline stance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been removed from his post as the country's intelligence chief.



His departure come just months after he was quoted warning of a 'major shift' from the United States over its Middle East policy.

Prince Bandar's removal from the post may help to smooth relations with Washington as Riyadh pushes for more U.S. support for Syrian rebels.



Prince Bandar, who has recently spent time in the United States and Morocco for medical treatment, was replaced on an interim basis by a deputy, Youssef al-Idrisi.

'Prince Bandar was relieved of his post at his own request and General Youssef al-Idrissi was asked to carry out the duties of the head of general intelligence,' state news agency SPA said, citing a royal decree.



The decree did not say if Prince Bandar would continue in his other position as head of the National Security Council.



A former ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar was appointed intelligence chief in July 2012, in charge of helping Syrian rebels bring down Assad, an ally of Riyadh's biggest regional rival Iran.



He was also closely involved in Saudi support for Egypt's military rulers after they ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi last year, diplomatic sources in the Gulf have said.

However, despite his longstanding connections in Washington and personal relations with world leaders stretching back decades, Prince Bandar proved a sometimes abrasive figure in his efforts to corral Western support for Syrian rebels.



Western officials have said in private that his comment in October about a 'major shift' from the U.S. following President Barack Obama's decision not to use military strikes against Assad had complicated cooperation on Syria.

Ongoing conflict: Prince Bandar led Saudi Arabia's strong stance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Pictured are Syrian army soldiers sitting on their tank while on patrol in Maaloula village, northeast of the capital Damascus, Syria, this week

A trip to Moscow last year to push President Vladimir Putin to abandon his support for Assad also failed to produce results.



'He had been more or less disengaged from the Syrian file for the past five months. The responsibility was divided between a number of people - officers in the intelligence sphere and other princes. So the reality is that any changes have already happened,' said Mustafa Alani, a security expert with close ties to Riyadh.



Saudi support for the rebels, including arms supplies, training and financing, has been hampered by infighting between opposition groups and difficulties in working out which of them pursued militant ideologies that could endanger Riyadh.

