This photo taken on May 7, 2023 shows a scene of an Arab League (AL) extraordinary meeting in Cairo, Egypt. Arab foreign ministers decided in the meeting to restore Syria's AL membership after 12 years of suspension. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
DAMASCUS, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The readmission of Syria into the Arab League (AL) signals a shift in Arab countries' strategy toward Syria and its civil war: that an Arab solution instead of outside intervention is the key to solving the country's protracted crisis.
According to local analysts, after 12 years of broken ties and isolation, the Arab world came to realize that the Western-led strategy: the language of threat, as well as the economic and social blockades, are no cure to the Syrian war.
Instead, the war has exerted destabilizing impacts on the Arab countries and the rest of the world, manifested in weakened border security that resulted in drug trafficking, human trafficking, and the refugee crisis, among other issues.
Now the Arab countries start to reconnect with Syria to reverse the negative impact, in the hope of coming up with an Arab solution to the prolonged Syrian crisis to achieve a win-win. The restoration of Syria's membership in the AL is a significant step.
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (L) shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at a welcome ceremony prior to the 32nd Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. (Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Xinhua)
On Sunday, the Syrian government appointed Houssam al-Din Ala as Syria's ambassador to Cairo and the Arab League, following the 22-member council's decision to give Syria its seat back in the league in May.
Osama Danura, a political expert, told Xinhua that the change reflects that Arab countries are acknowledging that combating terrorism, rejecting foreign intervention, and other factors are key to solving the Syrian crisis.
In addition, in Danura's view, Syria's return to the Arab world is a move that cuts the road ahead of foreign intervention, which indicates a good start for building constructive economic, social, and political relations among the Arab states and with other regional countries.
The Arabs could facilitate Syria to reach a political solution that would be welcomed in the Arab world if no foreign agenda was involved, Danura noted.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attends the 32nd Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. (Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Xinhua)
Mohammad al-Omari, a political expert and writer, told Xinhua that today the Arab countries seem to shelve differences and embark on a new era of understanding and consensus.
He believes Syria is now close to a political solution considering the change in the attitude of Arab countries.
The return of Syria to the Arab League doesn't mean resolving the Syrian crisis, but it should facilitate and accelerate the formation of mechanisms of the solution, he said. ■
Source: Xinhua