Arab, Islamic Action Intensifies to Implement Riyadh Summit Resolutions on Gaza

The leaders of Arab and Islamic countries during the Riyadh summit last week. (Egyptian Presidency)
The leaders of Arab and Islamic countries during the Riyadh summit last week. (Egyptian Presidency)
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Arab, Islamic Action Intensifies to Implement Riyadh Summit Resolutions on Gaza

The leaders of Arab and Islamic countries during the Riyadh summit last week. (Egyptian Presidency)
The leaders of Arab and Islamic countries during the Riyadh summit last week. (Egyptian Presidency)

The Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have been intensifying their efforts to implement the resolutions reached at their extraordinary Riyadh summit on Gaza last Saturday.

A ministerial Arab-Islamic committee is gearing up for meetings with the member states of the UN Security Council, urging for an immediate ceasefire.

The initiative is being led by Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League Ambassador Hossam Zaki.

Zaki told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that “organizing meetings for the ministerial committee with the permanent members of the Security Council takes time due to the commitments and schedules of foreign officials, which somewhat hinders the implementation.”

“However, the ministerial committee, under the leadership of the Saudi presidency, is exerting every effort to secure the necessary appointments,” said Zaki, anticipating that “these meetings will take place soon.”

Meanwhile, the Palestinian delegate to the Arab League, Ambassador Muhannad Al-Aklouk, confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “preparations are underway for the Arab-Islamic ministerial committee to hold meetings in influential capitals around the world with the aim of halting the Israeli aggression on Gaza.”

Moreover, an Arab diplomatic source informed Asharq Al-Awsat that “there are executive steps for the implementation of the Riyadh summit resolutions that will be announced soon, once the specific arrangements are finalized.”

The source, who requested anonymity, refused to disclose the “nature of these steps,” stating only that “they will be announced gradually.”

The resolution issued by the Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh tasked the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, Palestine, and the Secretary-Generals of the Arab League and the OIC, to initiate immediate international action on behalf of all member states to formulate international steps to stop the war on Gaza.



Türkiye Criticizes Some NATO Countries’ Support for Kurdish Units in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Türkiye Criticizes Some NATO Countries’ Support for Kurdish Units in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Türkiye criticized the support provided by some of its allies in NATO to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the largest component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

 

“The countries we have problems with... are America, England, and a little bit with France,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a televised interview on Monday.

 

He added: “The United States maintains its presence there, and we are putting this problem on the agenda at all levels... Türkiye is continuing the highest level of diplomacy possible” as “it can no longer live with such a reality.”

 

The foreign minister went on to say: “We carry more sensitivity in our fight against the PKK than you (the US and the UK) do in your fight against terrorism, just on the other side of our border. It is out of the question for us to engage in any negotiations here.”

 

On the other hand, Fidan considered that stopping the armed conflict between the Syrian army and the opposition is currently the main “achievement” of his country and Russia.

 

“The most important thing that we were able to achieve in Syria along with the Russians is that there is no war currently between the army and the opposition, and the Astana negotiations and others made that possible at the present time,” he stated.

He added that Damascus needs to “use this period of calm wisely, as an opportunity to return millions of Syrians who have fled abroad to rebuild their country and revive its economy.”

 

The minister revealed that he discussed this matter during his recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

 

“We are studying this matter. The return of refugees is important,” Fidan said, adding: “We want the Syrian government to exploit this period of calm, rationally... as an opportunity to solve constitutional problems and achieve peace with the opposition. But we do not see that Damascus is benefiting from this sufficiently.”