Top Arab diplomats discuss normalization of relations with Syria, bringing it back to Arab fold

Foreign ministers of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt meet in Amman on May 1, 2023, to discuss Syria's long-running conflict. (Photo by AP)

A group of Arab foreign ministers have met with their Syrian counterpart in Jordan to discuss how to normalize diplomatic ties with Damascus and bring the country back to the Arab fold.

The Monday meeting was part of a Jordanian proposal to reach a political solution to more-than-a-decade-old Syrian conflict.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and his Egyptian and Iraqi counterparts, Sameh Shoukry and Fuad Hussein, traveled to Amman on Monday for the meeting with Syria's Faisal Mekdad.

The United Arab Emirates was not represented at the meeting, even though it was the first Arab country to normalize relations with Syria in 2018.

A spokesman for the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the meeting came as a follow-up to talks in Saudi Arabia last month between the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council members, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.

The spokesman added that those countries aimed to build on their contacts with the Syrian government and discuss a “Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis.”

At the Jeddah meeting, there was resistance to the move to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the May 19 Arab League summit in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh, with Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait saying it was premature before Damascus agrees to negotiate a peace plan.

Before Arab ministers sat down for Amman talks, Syria’s chief diplomat met with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, according to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.

They discussed refugees, water issues and border security, including the fight against drug smuggling, the ministry said.

Jordan has called on Damascus to engage with Arab states on a roadmap to end the conflict, and tackle such issues as refugees and drug smuggling across the war-ravaged country’s borders.

In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia — which once backed Takfiri militant groups in Syria — has reversed its stance on the Syrian government and is pushing its neighbors to follow suit.

Saudi foreign minister visited Damascus last month for the first time since the kingdom cut ties with Syria more than a decade ago.

Saudi Arabia has said, after its rapprochement with Iran, a new approach was needed to Damascus, which is under Western sanctions.

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in November 2011, citing an alleged crackdown by Damascus on opposition protests. Syria denounced the move as “illegal and a violation of the organization’s charter.”

Syria was one of the six founding members of the Arab League in 1945. In recent months, an increasing number of countries and political parties have called for the reversal of its suspension from the Arab League.***