Baghdad govt. supports Syria’s return to Arab League: Iraqi FM

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Hakim says the Baghdad government supports the restoration of Syria's membership in the Arab League, amid promising signs that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government is being admitted back into the Arab world after nearly eight years of foreign-sponsored militancy.

“We discussed solutions to eliminate terrorism in Syria and support the Syrian government, its territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Hakim said at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is on an official visit to Baghdad.

“We also discussed supporting Iraq's efforts to restore Syria's (membership) to the Arab League,” he added.

On January 8, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the incumbent Damascus government needs to implement a number of measures toward the political settlement of the ongoing Syrian crisis in order for the conflict-plagued country to reinstate its membership in the Arab League.

PressTV-'Syria must get out of crisis to return to Arab League’

Egypt’s FM says the Syrian government needs to take a number of measures on the political settlement of ongoing crisis to return to the Arab League.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita in Cairo, Shoukry said such measures are required "in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254," which endorses a road map for a peace process in Syria, and sets out the outlines of a nationwide ceasefire.

“There's a need to get out of the current crisis in Syria within the political framework sponsored by the UN envoy in Geneva,” the top Egyptian diplomat pointed out.

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

Qatar sees no need to re-open diplomatic mission in Syria

In a related development, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has taken a belligerent stance toward the incumbent Syrian government, which is at odds with the reconciliatory tone of most Arab states, saying that he sees no need to re-open his country's embassy in the capital Damascus.

Thani added that Doha still objects to Syria’s return to the Arab League.

“Since day one, Qatar had reasons for which it supported suspending [Arab League] membership [of Syria] and those reasons are still there, so we do not see any encouraging factor,” he said at a news conference on Monday.

In contrast to Qatar's hostile approach to Syria, Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on December 28, 2018 that work at the kingdom’s embassy “in the Syrian Arab Republic was going on whilst the Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Kingdom of Bahrain was carrying out its duties and flights connecting the two countries were operational without interruption.”

The statement also affirmed “the Kingdom’s keenness on the continuity of its relations with the Syrian Arab Republic" and stressed the significance of enhancing and activating the Arab role in order to maintain Syria's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and avert the hazards of regional interference in its internal affairs and progress.

It came a day after the United Arab Emirates officially reopened its embassy in Damascus.

The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said the reopening of its embassy “reaffirms the keenness of the United Arab Emirates to restore relations between the two friendly countries to their normal course.”

The move “will strengthen and activate the Arab role in supporting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and to prevent the dangers of regional interference in Syrian Arab affairs,” the ministry pointed out.

On December 16, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir became the first Arab League leader to visit Damascus.

Syria's official news agency SANA said Bashir was greeted by his Syrian counterpart upon arrival at Damascus International Airport, before they both headed to the presidential palace.

The two leaders discussed bilateral ties and the "situations and crises faced by many Arab countries," the Syrian presidency said in a statement.

SANA quoted the Sudanese leader as saying during the meeting that he hoped Syria will recover its important role in the region as soon as possible.

He also affirmed Khartoum’s readiness to provide all it can to support Syria's territorial integrity.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies have been aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.

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