![Syrian President Bashar al-Assad [third right] and Mohammed al-Halbousi speaker of Iraqi parliament [on Assad's left] as well as delegates from several Arab states meet in Damascus on February 26, 2023. Photo: AP](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.rudaw.net%2Fs3%2Frudaw.net%2FContentFiles%2F726625Image1.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Delegates from nine Arab countries, including Iraq, on Friday met in Jeddah to discuss ending the diplomatic isolation of Syria.
The spokesperson for Iraq’s foreign ministry told state media late Friday that the meeting was “consultative” and Minister Fuad Hussein “renewed Iraq's firm and supportive position for Syria's return to the Arab League."
The league suspended Syria’s membership in 2011 months after an uprising began against Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Many Arab countries also cut ties with Damascus, accusing it of carrying out a brutal crackdown on protesters.
After the February 6 earthquake that killed thousands of Syrians in regime-held and rebel-held areas many Arab countries expressed sympathy and their willingness to normalise relations with the Assad.
Qatar, however, has announced that it refuses to normalise ties with Syria or support its return to the pan-Arab alliance because the original reason for the suspension still stands.
Turkey, which was a staunch critic of Assad and supports rebel groups, is also making moves to re-establish ties with Syria. There have been several recent top-level meetings between them.
Human Rights Watch in late February urged Arab states not to rush to normalise relations with Assad. Governments opening up to Assad are doing so “without pressing for accountability for the crimes that the Syrian authorities have committed or the critical reforms necessary for durable peace and a prosperous postwar Syria,” the watchdog stated.
“Arab states seeking to normalize relationships should recognize that the Syrian government in power today is the same one that has forcibly disappeared tens of thousands of people and other serious human rights violations against its citizens even before the uprisings began,” it added.
The Saudi foreign ministry, in a statement released early on Saturday, said the meeting in Jeddah emphasized the “importance of having an Arab leadership role in efforts to end the crisis” in Syria.
Saudi Arabia plans to invite Assad to a May 19 Arab League summit, according to Reuters.
More than 306,000 civilians were killed in over a decade of conflict in Syria that began with protests and demands for reforms.
