Egypt FM Stresses Keenness of Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee to Resolve Syria Crisis

Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and other officials attend a meeting in Cairo, Egypt, August 15, 2023. (Reuters)
Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and other officials attend a meeting in Cairo, Egypt, August 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Egypt FM Stresses Keenness of Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee to Resolve Syria Crisis

Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and other officials attend a meeting in Cairo, Egypt, August 15, 2023. (Reuters)
Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and other officials attend a meeting in Cairo, Egypt, August 15, 2023. (Reuters)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received on Sunday a phone call from Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, to discuss the outcomes of the meeting of the Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee on Syria, which was held in Cairo on August 15.

Shoukry stressed the committee's keenness to complete the task entrusted to it in order to reach a settlement to the Syrian crisis, and to preserve the unity and stability of Syria, said Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry.

Pedersen, for his part, underlined his keenness on coordinating with the various concerned parties to build on the agreements reached at the meeting.

Last week, the committee underscored that a political solution is the only way to resolve the Syrian crisis.

It hoped that the constitutional path would be resumed to achieve that goal, including holding a meeting of the Constitutional Committee in Oman before the end of the year.

The Cairo meeting also emphasized the importance of intensified efforts to end the humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people and the need to address the refugee crisis.

Shoukry and Pedersen agreed to meet on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly next month.



Iran Confirms Receiving 'Messages' from New Syrian Government

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
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Iran Confirms Receiving 'Messages' from New Syrian Government

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP

Iran said Saturday that it had received messages from the new government in Damascus following the ouster of its longtime Syrian ally, former president Bashar al-Assad, AFP reported.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is indirectly in contact with Damascus," Tehran's special envoy for Syrian affairs Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani was quoted as saying by the state-run IRNA news agency.

The diplomat said Iran had "also received messages" from Syria, but did not specify the intermediary country facilitating the communication.

Sheibani was responding to a question about recent comments by Syria's foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, regarding communications with Iran, according to IRNA.

"Our view of the developments in Syria and the restoration of relations with Damascus is forward-looking," Sheibani said, emphasizing that Iran was "thoughtfully" monitoring the situation there.

Iran, a staunch ally of Assad's regime, evacuated its diplomatic mission in Syria in December when opposition forces, led by current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, overthrew the government.

Sharaa said in December that Syria "cannot continue without relations with an important regional country like Iran".

He added that ties between Damascus and Tehran "must be based on respect for the sovereignty of both countries and non-interference in the affairs of both countries".

Iran had provided assistance to Assad during Syria's civil war, helping him claw back control of swathes of the country.

Sheibani, who previously served as Iran's ambassador to Syria, reiterated Tehran's position that the "future and destiny" of Syria must be determined by Syrians alone.

"The stability and peace of Syria are of particular importance to us, and we are against any foreign interference in the affairs of this country," he said.