Arab FMs agree on Syria’s return to Arab League

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Sunday, Arab foreign ministers of the Arab League agreed on Syria’s official return to its seat in the Arab League after more than 10 years of suspension.

The decision was made at a closed meeting at the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, in advance of the League’s upcoming Summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19.

The spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, said that the Arab foreign ministers agreed on Syria’s return to the Arab League.

On May 1, a final communiqué of the Foreign Ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria announced an agreement to work with the international community “on taking positive steps in response to the positive steps taken by the Syrian government to build on what has been achieved and gradually reach a political solution” in line with UN Security Council Res. 2254.

It also called to “support Damascus in an attempt to end the presence of armed and terrorist groups and counter-narcotics.”

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in 2011 after the onset of the Syrian Civil War.

Some countries have stepped up to normalize ties with Syria, something Turkey is already doing, while others, most notably the United States and the UK, oppose the rapprochement unless Syria takes steps towards a political solution.