Arab FMs Approve Postponing Algeria Summit to June

Side of the Arab League Council’s meeting held on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Cairo (DPA)
Side of the Arab League Council’s meeting held on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Cairo (DPA)
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Arab FMs Approve Postponing Algeria Summit to June

Side of the Arab League Council’s meeting held on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Cairo (DPA)
Side of the Arab League Council’s meeting held on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Cairo (DPA)

Arab foreign ministers have approved Algeria’s proposal to postpone the “Arab Summit’ to June.

They stressed “the importance of resolving the crises in Syria, Yemen and Libya and supporting the Arab League system.”

The decision was issued during the regular meeting of Arab foreign ministers, headed by the Sultanate of Oman. The meeting was held in the Arab League (AL) headquarters in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Wednesday.

AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, during the opening session, underscored the importance of the Arab League and its effectiveness amidst the crisis suffered by many Arab countries nowadays.

He slammed the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Syrians in camps that don’t protect them from the winter’s cold, as well as attempts to seek refuge in foreign countries.

Abul Gheit also pointed to the humanitarian tragedy many Syrians are going through, stressing that military solutions “will not resolve these conflicts” and that no party will come out victorious in any civil war.

“The first step towards political solutions is a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire on all Arab fronts,” the official said.

On the Yemeni issue, Aboul Gheit pointed out that “a political solution based on Security Council Resolution 2216 is the mean to achieve an internal settlement that ensures power for all parties.”

Oman's Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi, for his part, expressed his country’s keenness to maintain its support for the AL.

Chairman of the AL’s 153rd session at the ministerial level also accentuated Oman’s cooperation with all Arab countries to achieve the League’s goals and attain Arab economic integration that serves Arab people’s interests.

Alawi also stressed that without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, no regional stability will be achieved.

He called for providing the environment necessary for peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis.



18,000 Syrians Returned Home from Jordan Since Assad’s Fall

Syrians work at a vegetables market in Aleppo, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
Syrians work at a vegetables market in Aleppo, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
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18,000 Syrians Returned Home from Jordan Since Assad’s Fall

Syrians work at a vegetables market in Aleppo, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
Syrians work at a vegetables market in Aleppo, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)

About 18,000 Syrians have crossed into their country from Jordan since the government of Bashar Assad was toppled earlier this month, Jordanian authorities said on Thursday.
Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya told state TV channel Al-Mamlaka that “around 18,000 Syrians have returned to their country between the fall of the regime of Bashar Assad on December 8, 2024 until Thursday.”
He said the returnees included 2,300 refugees registered with the United Nations.
Amman says it has hosted about 1.3 million Syrians who fled their country since civil war broke out in 2011, with 650,000 formally registered with the United Nations.

Earlier this month, Al-Faraya said that security circumstances now allow Syrian refugees to return to their country.

"What prevented refugees from returning to their country was the security issue and now this has changed,” he said.

The minister said information suggests that security conditions on the northern border of the Kingdom with Syria are stable, adding that what is happening today in Syria represents "the end of a tragedy and years of suffering."

The Jaber-Nasib border crossing, which is located about 80 kilometers west of Amman, is currently the only functioning crossing between the two countries.