AMMAN: Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced on Friday that Syria should soon be able to return to the Arab League, despite the many challenges ahead in resolving the country’s more than a decade-long conflict.
Syria’s membership was suspended by the organization in 2011 over a violent crackdown on an uprising that has since escalated into a civil war.
Safadi said that Syria had enough votes among the Arab League’s 22 members to regain its seat, adding that “the return to the league will happen. Symbolically it will be significant, but… that is only a very humble start of what will be a very long and challenging and difficult process due to the complexity of the crisis after over a decade of conflict.”
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Arab League announced that Arab ministers will meet in Cairo on May 7 to discuss Syria amid the regional push to normalize relations with President Bashar Assad.
Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have recently reengaged with Syria through high-level meetings and visits.
Syria to negotiate peace plan
On Monday, at a meeting in Amman, Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad met with Arab ministers for the first time as part of a Jordanian initiative to get Damascus to negotiate a peace plan.
The plan includes a road map for ending the conflict that would address issues such as refugees, drug smuggling, missing detainees, and Iranian militias in Syria.
Safadi stated that Syria’s readiness to make real progress in resolving the 12 years of conflict would help it win crucial Arab support to lobby for ending Western sanctions that are a major impediment to launching a major reconstruction effort.
Despite the challenges, Syria’s readmission to the Arab League would mark a significant step in the country’s reintegration into the international community.
