Arab FMs Welcome Syria’s Return to the Arab League Ahead of Jeddah Summit

General view of the Arab league's foreign ministers meeting ahead of the Arab Summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 17, 2023. (SPA)
General view of the Arab league's foreign ministers meeting ahead of the Arab Summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 17, 2023. (SPA)
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Arab FMs Welcome Syria’s Return to the Arab League Ahead of Jeddah Summit

General view of the Arab league's foreign ministers meeting ahead of the Arab Summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 17, 2023. (SPA)
General view of the Arab league's foreign ministers meeting ahead of the Arab Summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 17, 2023. (SPA)

Arab foreign ministers Wednesday in Saudi Arabia welcomed back Syria to the Arab League and called for a ceasefire in conflict-hit Sudan ahead of the organization's annual summit taking place in the kingdom.

This year's summit, starting Friday in the city of Jeddah, will mark the readmittance of war-torn Syria into the 22-member league, after a 12-year suspension.

Syria's membership was frozen following Syrian President Bashar Assad's brutal crackdown on the 2011 mass protests against his rule. The country quickly descended into a civil war that has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Wednesday that the region is at a crossroads, facing a host of challenges. He called for cooperation between Arab countries to achieve security, stability and economic prosperity.

Prince Faisal also welcomed Syria’s return, as did the league's Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad after the meeting told reporters that he hopes Arab governments will help with reconstruction and Syrian refugee returns.

He hinted that Assad will attend the summit Friday. “Per usual, Syria cannot be absent from any summit,” he said.

Syria’s return to the Arab fold comes as Damascus is also trying to amend ties with Türkiye, a key backer of the armed Syrian opposition groups in the country’s northwest.

The summit also comes as Arab governments are scrambling to resolve the conflict in Sudan between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting in the East African country, which broke out in mid-April, has left over 600 people dead and displaced tens of thousands.

In Wednesday's meeting, top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Algeria called for a ceasefire in Sudan and an end to the escalating violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories.



Sharaa Tours More Syrian Cities ahead of National Conference

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
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Sharaa Tours More Syrian Cities ahead of National Conference

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus on Sunday as part of a tour of the country that he kicked off on Saturday in the Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

The tour is taking place weeks ahead of a national conference scheduled in Homs in central Syria.

Sharaa was warmly welcomed by crowds that gathered in Latakia city center near the Jules Jammal school, which holds historic and national significance.

The school was established in the early 1920s and it helped shape national awareness in the country. It was the launch point for student protests and an arena for electoral tensions between the Baath party, Muslim Brotherhood and Syrian nationalists.

It was shut during the rule of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, leaving it in neglect despite its significance to the people.

Sharaa deliberately chose to greet the people near the school to underscore Latakia’s national role that was usurped by the Assad regime.

In Aleppo on Saturday, Sharaa attended an open dialogue discussion with several social and economic figures from the city and its countryside.

He listened to their proposals and demands, with sources saying that the talks focused on the state of affairs in Syria and efforts to revive it after the war and regime ouster.

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Latakia. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)

Sharaa stressed Aleppo’s economic significance and role in the industry sector.

He underlined his confidence that Syria will rise again thanks to its people, telling the crowd that the interim government is focusing on setting plans for 2025 and 2026.

The sources said Sharaa sought to assure the people, emphasizing that “everyone was under the law” and that Syria is not a sectarian state.

He urged them to trust him in tackling the issues at hand, reiterating that he was walking the “very fine line between transitional justice and civil peace.”

Sharaa also visited Afrin city in Aleppo which is predominantly Kurdish.

He assured that Syrian Kurds were part of the Syrian population.

He visited refugee camps in the northwest, stressing that returning the displaced home was a government priority.

Sharaa’s tour is taking place amid preparations for the national conference in Homs. Consultations have already gotten underway for the meeting.