Saudi Arabia to Invite Syria’s Assad to Arab League Summit Next Month

Saudi Arabia is reportedly planning to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to an Arab League summit hosted by Riyadh next month, as Arab states race to re-establish cordial relations with the government in Damascus after cutting diplomatic ties more than a decade ago.
Three sources familiar with the plan were cited by Reuters as making the revelation in a report on Sunday, saying Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus in coming weeks to hand Assad a formal invitation to attend the Arab League summit on May 19.

One of the three sources, who were not named in the report, said discussions have been ongoing for more than a year over a list of demands from Saudi Arabia for the Syrian government to meet as a condition to mend ties, including close cooperation on border security and drug trafficking.

Moreover, initial discussions — as one of the sources said — for a visit by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud to Damascus or by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Riyadh were postponed due to February’s earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

The Saudi government and the foreign ministries of both countries have yet to confirm the report.

Gamal Roshdy, spokesperson for the Arab League secretary general, said the organization is not privy to every move on the bilateral level between Arab countries, adding, “We are not supposed to be informed in advance about the assumed visit.”

Last month, Riyadh and Damascus reached an agreement to reopen their embassies and resume consular services after the fasting holy month of Ramadan.

Contacts between Riyadh and Damascus gathered momentum following a landmark agreement earlier in March between Iran and Saudi Arabia on the restoration of bilateral relations after seven years.

Arab League heavyweight Egypt also resumed contacts with Damascus, with Mekdad meeting his Egyptian counterpart in the capital, Cairo, on Saturday to discuss strengthening of bilateral relations as well as the latest regional and international developments.

Syria was one of the six founding members of the Arab League in 1945. In recent months, an increasing number of countries and political parties have called for the reversal of its suspension from the Arab League.

Since 2011, Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy, leading to the emergence of Daesh and other terrorist groups in the Arab country.

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in November 2011, citing an alleged crackdown by Damascus on opposition protests. Syria has denounced the move as “illegal and a violation of the organization’s charter.”

In recent months, observers have noted, there has been a race among Arab countries to mend their ties with the Syrian government, tweleve years after the beginning of the conflict in Syria during which key Arab countries tried to oust Assad.

Source: Press TV