https://arab.news/2vvke
- Syrian leader鈥檚 first visit since 2011
- Meeting seals country鈥檚 return to Arab fold
JEDDAH: President Bashar Assad of Syria arrived in Jeddah on Thursday to take part in the Arab League summit, his first visit to the Kingdom since Syria鈥檚 conflict began in 2011.
Assad鈥檚 attendance at the summit on Friday seals Syria鈥檚 return to the Arab fold after a 12-year suspension,and opens a new chapter in relations after more than a decade of tensions.
The 22-member league recently reinstated Syria and is now poised to welcome Assad back into its ranks. The Syrian president was officially invited to attend the summit last week.萝莉视频 cut ties with Assad鈥檚 government in 2012 in response to the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests that triggered the civil war, which has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions. It was also the reason Syria was suspended from the Arab League.
Bahrain鈥檚 King Hamad lands in Jeddah on Thursday. (SPA)
The steps leading to Syria鈥檚 reintegration into the Arab fold go back to at least 2018, but the process picked up speed after two deadly earthquakes struck Syria and Turkey in February, prompting an influx of aid from the region.
After the quakes, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said a consensus was building in the Arab world that a new approach to Syria requiring negotiations with Damascus would be needed to address humanitarian crises.
Assad鈥檚 arrival was preceded by that of several Arab leaders and heads of state. First to arrive was Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, followed by Lebanon鈥檚 Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Bahrain鈥檚 King Hamad, the President of Yemen鈥檚 Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Oman鈥檚 Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs Sayyid Asaad bin Tarik Al-Said, and Tunisian President Kais Saied.
After arriving in Jeddah, Bahrain鈥檚 king said the summit was a 鈥済ood occasion鈥� for leaders to consult, exchange opinions, and enhance joint coordination in order to support Arab action.
The summit coincides with a desire for greater unity and sense of purpose in the Arab world. 萝莉视频鈥檚 growing authority and its support for 鈥渉ome-grown鈥� solutions to regional problems have provided much of the impetus for this collective call for cooperation, analysts told Arab News.
The President of Yemen鈥檚 Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi arrives in Jeddah. (SPA)
鈥淪ince its establishment in 1945, all previous Arab League summits had been marred by regional crises and much disagreement within the pan-Arab body to the point that many of those meetings had been either canceled or yielded no tangible outcomes,鈥� said Omar Ayasrah, a Jordanian lawmaker and political analyst.
鈥淏ut the summit in Jeddah seems to be different. It has been preceded by a number of Saudi-led initiatives and practical steps aimed first at laying down positive grounds for the meeting and consequently building a unified Arab position on regional crises and the necessary collective framework to address them.鈥�