The US State Department condemned, on Wednesday, Syria’s return to the Arab League, amid news of the participation of the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, in the Arab summit to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday.
On Wednesday, reports quoted statements by the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, in which he expressed Assad’s participation in the Arab summit meeting for the first time since 2010.
Commenting on the confirmation of Assad’s participation in the upcoming summit, Deputy Spokesman for the US State Department, Vedant Patel, told Al-Hurra: “We do not believe that Syria deserves re-admission to the Arab League at this time. This is a point we have made clear to all our partners.”
Patel added that, despite this, “we share with our Arab partners many goals with regard to Syria, including reaching a solution to the Syrian crisis in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254, expanding humanitarian access to all Syrians in need, and building security and stability to ensure that ISIS does not emerge from New, creating safe conditions for the return of refugees, releasing and revealing the fate of those unjustly detained and missing, limiting Iranian influence, and combating Captagon smuggling from Syria.
After an absence of 11 years… Al-Assad will attend the Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia
The head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, intends to participate in the Arab summit to be held in Saudi Arabia, next Friday, according to what was confirmed by the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal al-Miqdad, on Wednesday, in what will be the first participation since 2010.
“We understand that our partners intend to use direct engagement with the Assad regime to drive further progress and demand progress in these areas over the coming months,” the State Department deputy spokesperson added. “While we question Assad’s willingness to take the necessary steps to resolve the Syrian crisis, we agree with our Arab partners.” in the final goals.
Patel revealed that the United States has also made it clear to its partners, “that we will abide by the basic principles of our sanctions,” and he said, “We have been consulting with our partners about their plans, making it clear that we will not normalize with the Assad regime and that our sanctions will remain in effect.”
The US State Department deputy spokesman concluded by saying, “We continue to believe that a political solution as stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 2254 remains the only viable solution to the conflict, and we are working with our allies and like-minded partners and the United Nations to implement this resolution.”
On Friday, Arab leaders will meet in Jeddah to participate in an Arab summit, which will be the first for Bashar al-Assad in 11 years, against the background of the devastating conflict in this country.
Damascus’ membership in the League of Arab States was suspended in response to its suppression of the protests, which began in 2011, before turning into a bloody conflict that claimed the lives of more than half a million people.
