PALESTINE
Fri 19 May 2023 6:24 am - Jerusalem Time
All eyes are on Al-Assad.. The Arab summit begins today amid complex circumstances
Today, Friday, in Jeddah, the regular Arab summit in its thirty-second session will kick off, amid an atmosphere of optimism, consensualness, and reliance that its results will be positively reflected on most of the hot issues.
The summit agenda will focus on Syria's return to the Arab League, in addition to Arab relations with neighboring countries, as well as the volatile situation in Sudan and the Palestinian cause.
Yesterday, the leaders of the Arab countries arrived successively in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is hosting the new summit.
The Arab and international media focused on the participation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after an absence of 13 years.
Al-Assad arrived in the coastal city of Jeddah on the Red Sea on Thursday evening to attend the annual summit of the League of Arab States, in his first participation since Damascus was suspended in 2011 in response to its suppression of popular protests that took to the streets before turning into a bloody conflict that claimed the lives of more than half a million people. .
"We express our happiness with our presence in Saudi Arabia. This summit is very important," said Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, after his arrival in Jeddah a few days ago. "We wish this summit every success."
The Sirte summit in Libya in March 2010 was the last summit that Assad attended.
However, efforts to reintegrate Assad into the Arab incubator are not welcomed at the regional and international levels.
Qatar, openly opposed to Assad, announced that it would not normalize relations with the Damascus government, but indicated that it would not be an "obstacle" to the step taken by the Arab League. On Thursday, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, announced in a statement that he would lead his country's delegation to the Arab summit.
For its part, Washington on Wednesday reaffirmed its position that it "does not believe that Syria deserves to be returned to the Arab League." "We will not work to normalize relations with the Assad regime and we certainly don't support others to do either," foreign ministry spokesman Vedant Patil said.
In addition to the normalization of relations with Damascus, two major crises are expected to top the agenda of the summit: the month-long conflict in Sudan between the army led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Lieutenant General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, and the ongoing conflict in Yemen for more than eight years. .
Saudi Arabia's hosting of the Arab summit comes as Riyadh displays its diplomatic influence in the Middle East and beyond, after a number of diplomatic initiatives sparked by the sudden announcement of the normalization of relations with Iran, mediated by China, in March.
Since then, Riyadh has restored its diplomatic relations with Syria and intensified its diplomatic efforts to push for peace in Yemen, where it leads a military coalition against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Riyadh also played a central role in the evacuations of civilians from Sudan when fighting suddenly broke out last month, and is currently hosting representatives from both sides of the conflict in order to reach a truce.
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All eyes are on Al-Assad.. The Arab summit begins today amid complex circumstances