On Sunday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it confirmed that Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad stressed, during a phone call with his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra, that his country prefers not to raise the issue of its return to its seat in the Arab League during the summit to be hosted by Algeria next November.
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According to APS, the Algerian Foreign Ministry statement said: “The issue of the relationship of the Syrian Arab Republic with the Arab League was discussed. The head of Syrian diplomacy stressed that his country prefers not to raise the issue of resuming its seat in the Arab League during the Algeria summit to contribute to the unification of the word and the Arab class in the face of the challenges posed by the current situation at the regional and international levels.”
The official statement said the two sides expressed their aspiration that the summit would culminate in “constructive outcomes that will contribute to purifying the atmosphere and strengthening Arab relations to advance joint Arab action.”
On July 25th, Lamamra paid a visit to the Syrian capital Damascus. He discussed with his Syrian counterpart several issues and held a press interview, during which Mekdad did not provide any final answer in this regard. He stressed that Syria’s absence from the Arab League harms the mechanism of joint Arab action. Mekdad said regarding this issue: “Let’s not simplify things, we must deal with reality within the framework of a regional and international situation, and we must think about the pressures exerted at various levels to solve the solution. Syria will remain at the heart of joint Arab action, and if there are some measures opposing this action, whoever imposes bears the responsibility, and it was imposed by international pressure and in certain circumstances.”
Asharq al-Awsat newspaper has previously quoted diplomatic experts as confirming that Syria’s return to the Arab League is one of the biggest obstacles to determining the date of the next summit of the Arab League in Algeria. The advisor of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Dr. Hassan Abu Taleb, said: “Holding the summit on its proposed date is very difficult, as a result of the great differences on how to deal with Syria, while Algeria seeks to lift the embargo on it. There is no Arab consensus on this issue.”
On Sunday, the work of the meeting of the Council of the Arab League at the level of permanent representatives began within the framework of the 158th session at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League in Cairo, chaired by Libya as the successor to Lebanon.
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.
