2023-05-07 15:48:41
SSyria’s government will return to the Arab League after years of isolation, according to official information from Iraq. The move has been decided, a spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, according to the state agency INA. He thus confirmed media reports during an extraordinary meeting of the regional organization at ministerial level in Cairo. A statement on this was expected by Sunday evening.
The Arab League suspended the Assad government’s membership in 2011 because of its violent crackdown on its own people. Syrian government troops had violently put down protests in the country at the time. The uprisings developed into a civil war that has continued to this day, in which more than 350,000 people lost their lives. More than 14 million people have been displaced by the fighting, 6.8 million of them in their own country.
The Al-Arabiya news channel and the Emirati newspaper The National also reported on the move, citing diplomats. Syria should therefore be obliged to resume talks with the opposition about a new constitution and to pave the way for elections. In addition, the government should enable refugees to return and cross-border humanitarian aid and curb drug smuggling into neighboring countries. In return, the Arab countries want to provide financial support for reconstruction in Syria and persuade allied states to withdraw from Syria.
A political solution is the “only way” to reach an agreement, said Egypt’s Foreign Minister Samih Schukri at the opening of the session in Cairo on Sunday. Intervention by foreign states would have exacerbated the crisis in Syria. The main responsibility for a solution lies with the government in Damascus. Together with allies, this now controls about 70 percent of the fragmented civil war country.
The next summit of the 22-strong organization is scheduled for May 19 in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom can invite Assad to this meeting with Sunday’s decision. According to Al-Arabiya, Syrian delegations can now take part in meetings of the organization again. Further approval from the heads of state and government or monarchs in the Arab countries is not required.
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