Arab countries’ heads of diplomacy failed to reach an agreement on Syria’s readmission to the Arab League at a meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah that ended early Saturday.
“A political solution is the only solution to the Syrian crisis,” the ministers said in a statement quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE.
Syria was expelled from the Arab League more than a decade ago over its crackdown on popular uprisings in 2011.
The diplomatic heads of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman, as well as Iraq, Jordan and Egypt participated in the meeting in Jeddah.
In the statement, the ministers referred to the “importance of an Arab leadership role in efforts to end the crisis” in Syria.
They also defended the need to “establish the necessary mechanisms for this role”, as well as the importance of “intensifying consultations between Arab countries to ensure the success of these efforts”.
They also discussed security and stability in Syria, the process of returning Syrian refugees and the arrival of humanitarian aid to the areas of the country hit by the devastating earthquake in February, with its epicenter in neighboring Turkey.
In the communiqué, the Arab ministers also mentioned, among other things, their common interest in combating terrorism, smuggling and drug trafficking.
They also referred to the strengthening of Syrian institutions to “expand control over their country to end the presence of armed militias in the country and outside interference in Syria’s internal affairs”.
The meeting started late and lasted into the early hours of Saturday morning as participants held a series of bilateral meetings to assess their mutual relations.
The celebration of ‘iftar’, the breaking of the fast during the month of Ramadan, also caused a delay in the meeting, according to EFE.
The meeting was led by Saudi Arabia, which in early March normalized relations with its Middle Eastern nemesis, Iran, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The main obstacle to Syria’s reintegration into the pan-Arab body is Qatar, which Riyadh is trying to convince, although its position was not voiced at the meeting of foreign ministers in Jeddah.
In the communiqué, the ministers also did not announce new meetings between the participating countries or future actions to decide on the future of Syria within the organization.
If integrated into the Arab League, Syria will assume full member status and participate in the usual ministerial meetings.
Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since 2011 that has been complicated over the years by the intervention of various countries and foreign armed groups.
The conflict has killed an estimated 500,000 people, destroyed the country’s infrastructure and displaced millions of people.
Source: DN
