Arab League chief says Syrian regime unlikely to attend next summit

By Laith Al-Jnaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) - Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Wednesday that a representative from the Syrian regime is unlikely to attend the next Arab summit amid a lack of consensus to readmit the country.

Aboul Gheit made the comments to Jordanian state TV during his visit to Amman.

In answering a question on whether the Syrian regime would participate in the Arab League's upcoming summit in Algeria, he replied by saying "for the moment, it seems not."

Aboul Gheit added that he believes Damascus would be readmitted if a consensus developed among the member states to speak with “the rulers of Syria” and if the regime “responds to the Arab positions.”

However, he did not clarify the consensus points among the Arab countries on Syria's return to the league.

Syria's membership in the Arab League was suspended in 2011 over the regime’s brutal crackdown against the country's popular revolution.

In November, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune hinted at the possibility of Syria's return to the Arab League during the next Arab summit in March, saying Syria “is supposed to be present.”

In 2021, normalization steps with the Syrian regime were accelerated by several Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar