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Syria to return to Arab League soon: Jordan

Friday, 05 May 2023 2:17 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 05 May 2023 2:46 AM ]

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi

Jordan says Syria should be able to return to the Arab League soon more than a decade after the regional grouping suspended its membership in a move that Damascus has denounced as illegal.

"The return to the league will happen. Symbolically, it will be important," Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in remarks to CNN on Friday.

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in 2011, when the Arab country found itself in the grip of overwhelming foreign-backed militancy and terrorism.

Back then, the body cited, what it called, Syria's alleged crackdown on opposition protests as the reason behind its decision. Syria has denounced the move as lacking in legal foundation and "a violation of the organization’s charter."

Safadi, however, said Syria now had enough votes among the group's 22 members to regain its seat.

He, meanwhile, claimed that the reintegration process would be "a very humble beginning of what will be a very long and difficult and challenging process, given the complexity of the crisis after 12 years of conflict."

The remarks came as several regional Arab states -- including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt -- have been trying to reengage with Syria, sending over their senior officials at the head of ranking delegations for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking earlier, Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit said a series of meetings would be held initially to assess the process of restoration of Damascus' role within the body.