Tunisian FM demands restoration of Syria’s Arab League membership

Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui has called on the Arab League to restore Syria’s membership, saying the “natural place” of the country is within the 22-member regional organization.

According to Press TV, Jhinaoui said during a news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Tunis on Saturday “Syria is an Arab state, and its natural place is within the Arab League.”

“The question of Syria returning to the Arab League does not depend on Tunisia but on the Arab League,” he added.

“The foreign ministers (of member states) will decide on this subject,” Jhinaoui said. “What interests us is Syria's stability and security.”

Lavrov also called for readmitting Syria in the Arab League.

“We would like Tunisia to support the process of Syria’s return to the Arab family and the Arab League,” the top Russian diplomat said.

“I believe that Tunis is interested in a quick return of Syrian refugees sheltered in Tunisia,” Lavrov said. “We will do everything to create proper conditions in Syria for that kind of return,” he added.

There are around 400 Syrian refugees in Tunisia, according to estimates by the UN refugee agency.

Tunisia is scheduled to host the 30th annual summit of the Arab League in March.

On January 18, Lebanon’s Caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil called on the Arab League to restore Syria’s membership in the organization, describing attempts to block the move as a “historic mistake.”

“We, Arab nations, don’t know how to look out for each other. Arab states continue to trade blame for suffering across the region rather than assembling plans to alleviate it,” Bassil said as he opened the first session of an Arab economic summit in Beirut.

“Syria should return to us ... Syria should be in our embrace instead of throwing it into the embrace of terrorism," he pointed out.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on January 8 that the current Damascus government needed to implement a number of measures toward a political settlement of the ongoing Syria crisis to be able to reclaim its membership in the Arab League.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita in Cairo, Shoukry said such measures were required "in accordance with … UN Security Council Resolution 2254," which endorses a road map for a peace process in Syria, and sets out the outlines of a nationwide ceasefire.

ME