Iraq extends support to Syria's return to Arab League

Iraq has extended its support to reinstate Syria's membership `in the Arab League, a decade after it was ousted for violence against civilians. This development has come as Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi held a meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit on Saturday as part of the latter's visit to Baghdad. As per reports, the two leaders held discussions on various issues of regional interest, including crises in Lebanon and Yemen.

On Saturday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein held talks with the Arab League Secretary-General, discussing ways to strengthen joint Arab action and unifying efforts to overcome common challenges in the region. According to a statement issued by Iraq's Foreign Ministry, Baghdad extended support for Syria's return to the Arab League, along with resorting to dialogue and adopting a political solution to end the Syrian crisis. 

"The two sides discussed a number of important issues, most notably Iraq's relationship with countries, as well as with Turkey and Iran, the issue of ending the Syrian crisis by resorting to dialogue and adopting a political solution that leads to stabilization, and the return of Syria to occupy its seat in the Arab League," the statement read.

 

Addressing a joint press conference after their meeting, Fuad Hussein and Ahmed Aboul-Gheit stressed the importance of working together to find a mechanism for dialogue among influential countries in Syria in order to stabilize the war-torn country. In this regard, Hussein also noted that years of instability in Syria have negatively impacted the situation in Iraq.

In November 2011, Syria was suspended from the Arab League over the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests by President Bashar al-Assad's government. According to the United Nations, more than 3,500 civilians lost their lives in the brutal crackdown. The 22-member bloc had also imposed various economic and political sanctions on Damascus in order to put pressure on al-Assad's government to end the crackdown. 

After 10 years of civil war, Syria is seeking to return to the Arab bloc as a number of member states have expressed their support for the renewal of its membership. Last month, Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Syria’s return to the Arab League would be crucial for maintaining national security in the region. He made the remarks during the opening session of a meeting of the Arab League Foreign Ministers Council on March 3. At the same time, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan extended support for Syria's return to the bloc, while calling for regional cooperation to end the war in the country.