Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will not attend the Arab League Summit in Baghdad this weekend, Syrian state media said on Monday, after Iraq's invitation spurred criticism from pro-Iran groups.
Syria's delegation to Saturday's summit will be headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, state-owned Ekhbariya TV reported, without providing a reason for Sharaa's absence. The summit is expected to focus on Gaza reconstruction and the Palestinian issue.
Sharaa's decision highlighted Syria's mixed results establishing ties across the region after former President Bashar al-Assad's ouster last year. Sharaa has made rapid inroads with Gulf Arab states Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but has tread more carefully with others where Iran has had strong influence, like Iraq.
Several influential Iraqi politicians had voiced opposition to Sharaa's visit.
They include former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, a leading member of Iraq's main pro-Iran coalition that holds a parliamentary majority.
Armed groups aligned with Tehran had also joined the call against Sharaa, including the Kataeb Hezbollah faction, which previously fought in Syria alongside Assad's forces.
Sharaa fought with Al-Qaeda in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003. He was imprisoned there for more than five years, then released for lack of evidence in 2011, according to a senior Iraqi security official.
Several Iraqi security sources told AFP that an old arrest warrant for Sharaa from his time as a member of Al-Qaeda remains in place.
However, authorities seek good relations with Syria's new leadership to help maintain regional stability, the sources said.
Sunni politicians largely welcomed Sharaa's participation in the summit as a step towards pulling Iraq away from Iran and towards the Arab fold.
"There are elements... working against Iraq's progress to reclaim its rightful place within the Arab community," said Raad al-Dahlaki, head of Azm Alliance, a major Sunni bloc in Iraq's parliament.
