Ahmed Aboul Gheit:
Syria’s return to Arab League very likely during next summit
Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit says there is a very high chance for restoration of Syria’s membership in the organization as a founding member during the next Arab summit in Saudi Arabia.
MEHR: Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit says there is a very high chance for restoration of Syria’s membership in the organization as a founding member during the next Arab summit in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Arabic-language Asharq News, Aboul Gheit underscored that Syria's return to the Arab League is “very likely” as heads of Arab states would come together in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh on May 19.
He noted Syria's return to the Arab League will take place gradually and step by step.
He added that a series of meetings will be held initially to assess the process, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be invited to the Arab League summit in Riyadh once member states reach a consensus on the matter.
According to the contacts made and the actions taken, Aboul Gheit said, there is a really very high chance that the Arab League would restore Syria's membership at the Riyadh meeting, unless something unexpected happens.
Earlier this week, a group of Arab foreign ministers met with their Syrian counterpart in Jordan to discuss how to normalize diplomatic ties with Damascus and bring the country back to the Arab fold.
The Monday meeting was part of a Jordanian proposal to reach a political solution to more-than-a-decade-old Syrian conflict.
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.”
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.
