On Sunday, the League of Arab States will hold two extraordinary meetings in Cairo at the foreign minister level, to discuss the ongoing war in Sudan and the issue of Syria’s return to the League. A high-ranking diplomat informed “Agence France Presse” that there will be preparatory meetings on Saturday, and a closed consultative meeting of Arab foreign ministers before the two extraordinary sessions. These meetings will be chaired by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, as Egypt currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the League of Arab States.
Recently, a consultative meeting was held in Amman with the participation of the foreign ministers of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Egypt, where they discussed ways for the return of Syrian refugees from neighbouring countries and for the Syrian state to extend its control over its lands. In this context, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Abu Al-Ghaith, said that the issue of the Syrian regime’s return to the Arab League is “very possible.”
Abu al-Ghaith added, in an interview with Al-Sharq TV, that the regime’s return to occupy Syria’s seat in the Arab League “must happen in stages,” so that it “starts with a meeting and discussion, then a consensus between the member states of the League, after which an invitation is presented to Syria.” He also mentioned that Syria will participate in any other ministerial meeting and return to all the activities of the Arab League.
When asked if the regime was expected to return before the Arab summit scheduled to take place in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on May 19th, Abu al-Ghaith stated that based on his monitoring of activities, contacts, follow-ups, and momentum, the return of Syria is a very likely possibility. He considered that a major event may delay the return of Damascus to the league.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
