Pars Today

Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit says there is a very high chance for restoration of Syria’s membership in the 22-member regional organization as a founding member during the next Arab summit in Saudi Arabia later this month.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Arabic-language Asharq News, Aboul Gheit underscored that Syria's return to the Arab League is “very likely” as heads of Arab states would come together in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh on May 19.

He noted Syria's return to the Arab League will take place gradually and step by step.

The 80-year-old Egyptian politician and diplomat added that a series of meetings will be held initially to assess the process, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be invited to the Arab League summit in Riyadh once member states reach a consensus on the matter.

According to the contacts made and the actions taken, Aboul Gheit said, there is a really very high chance that the Arab League would restore Syria's membership at the Riyadh meeting, unless something unexpected happens.

Earlier this week, a group of Arab foreign ministers 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.

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.”

SS