Upon his return to the Arab League, Syria’s ruler Assad expressed his hope for a new start in relations between the Arab states. In Syrian rebel areas, hundreds protested against the rapprochement.
Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad has expressed hope for a restart of relations between the Arab states at his first participation in an Arab League summit in a decade. Speaking to summit participants in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Friday, Assad said he hoped this gathering would “mark the beginning of a new phase in common Arab action for solidarity, regional peace, development and prosperity instead of war and destruction.” ” mark.
Assad attended a summit of the 20-member organization for the first time since 2011, from which he was expelled over his government’s brutal handling of the civil war in his country.
Among other things, his resumption was favored by the devastating earthquake in the Syrian-Turkish border area – and by the easing of relations between several regional actors: In the past few weeks, Saudi Arabia and Syria had announced the reopening of their embassies in the other country after a decade. In March, Riyadh and Syria’s ally Iran ended their diplomatic ice age.
Assad said that although the summit in Jeddah was taking place in an “unstable world“, the “Arab-Arab and Arab-regional rapprochement” was reason for hope.
Assad acknowledged his “Arab affiliation” and also demanded that “foreign interference” in the affairs of Arab states be prevented. Several foreign powers are involved in the Syrian civil war: Iran and Russia on Assad’s side, while Turkey and the US have soldiers in rebel-held areas.
In northern Syria, several hundred people took to the streets on Friday against Assad’s return to the Arab League circle, according to an AFP journalist. In the city of Asas, which is controlled by Syrian rebels allied with Turkey, demonstrators chanted “The people wants the regime’s fall” – the most widespread slogan during the peaceful uprising against Assad in 2011.
Statements directed at the Arab states could be read on banners, such as “Syria must not be represented by the criminal Assad” or “If you think the uprising is over, you are mistaken”.