Syria to resume participation in Arab League meetings: Statement
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The Arab League council says the decision to readmit the Syrian Arab Republic into the body goes into effect immediately.
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The empty seat of the Syrian delegation is seen during the Arab summit in Kuwait City, Kuwait, March 25, 2014. (Reuters)
The Council of the Arab League announced on Sunday readmitting Syria as a full member, 12 years after suspending its membership following the start of the war on the country.
The Council said in a statement that it had been decided to "resume the participation of delegations of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic in the meetings of the Arab League Council and all its affiliated organizations and agencies," explaining that the decision is effective as of May 7.
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The decision comes ten days ahead of a planned Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19, with all eyes now focused on whether Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad will personally participate.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Sunday after Syria was readmitted to the League said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can attend an Arab League summit later this month "if he wishes to."
This came in response to a question in a news conference in Cairo over whether Al-Assad could participate at the summit in Saudi Arabia. "If he wishes, because Syria, starting from this evening, is a full member of the Arab League, and from tomorrow morning they have the right to occupy any seat," Aboul Gheit said.
"When the invitation is sent by the hosting country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and if he wishes to participate, he will participate," he added.
The League further called for pursuing direct dialogue with the Syrian government to reach a comprehensive solution that addresses all the repercussions of the Syrian crisis.
The statement stressed the need to take practical and effective steps to gradually resolve the issues, explaining that this is done according to the principle of "step by step."
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The Arab League renewed its commitment to preserving Syria's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and stability, welcoming Damascus' readiness to cooperate with Arab countries to implement the outputs of the relevant Arab statements.
A ministerial liaison committee must be formed, the statement continued, consisting of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt in order to follow up on the implementation of the statement of the recent Amman consultative meeting, which was held in early May to discuss ways to end the suffering of the Syrian people and resolve the crisis once and for all.
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The participants of the Amman meeting affirmed work to support Syria and its institutions in any legitimate efforts to achieve extending its control over its lands, impose the rule of law, and end the presence of armed and terrorist groups on Syrian territory.
They also called for stopping external interference in Syrian internal affairs and for establishing effective coordination mechanisms between the Syrian military and security agencies and their counterparts in neighboring countries.
