The Arab League will hold on Sunday two extraordinary meetings at the level of foreign ministers in Cairo to discuss the war in Sudan and the issue of Syria’s return to the league. The first session will be devoted to discussing the developments of the Syrian crisis and the issue of Syria resuming its seat at the League, while the second session will discuss the ongoing war in Sudan.
On Saturday, the permanent delegates held preparatory meetings at the headquarters of the general secretariat of the Arab league to prepare for these two extraordinary ministerial sessions.
The Sunday meetings will be chaired by Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian foreign minister, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the Arab league.
Diplomatic sources said that a closed consultative meeting of Arab foreign ministers will be held before the two extraordinary sessions.
The meeting dedicated to Sudan will discuss the situation in this country “in all its dimensions, political, security, humanitarian, social and economic
The Sudanese capital has been in a state of chaos since the fighting broke out, on April 15, between the army and the Rapid Support forces (RSF)..
The fighting in Khartoum and other areas, especially in Darfur in the West, resulted in at least 550 dead and 4,926 injured, according to official data of the Ministry of Health, which is believed to be much less than reality.
The clashes prompted more than 100 thousand others to seek refuge in neighboring countries, in a development that prompted a warning of a humanitarian “catastrophe” whose repercussions could affect the entire region.
Over the past two days, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held telephone calls with 7 foreign ministers to prepare for the extraordinary meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Sudan and Syria.
The contacts included Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Mohammed Hussein, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed attaf, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Youssef and Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua..
Shoukry also held two phone calls on Thursday with Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of the Sudanese transitional sovereignty Council, and Lieutenant General Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the RSF..
In his contacts with the two sides, the foreign minister stressed Egypt’s grave concern as a result of the continuing military confrontations, the resulting innocent victims, and the endangerment of the security and stability of Sudan, calling for an immediate ceasefire to preserve the capabilities of the brotherly Sudanese people and to uphold the Supreme National Interest.
Foreign Minister stressed that Egypt will spare no effort to stand next to Sudan in this dangerous and unprecedented ordeal, stressing the need for all parties to abide by the truce to allow relief operations and provide humanitarian and medical assistance to those who deserve it and provide protection to civilians.
During the call, Shoukry reiterated Egypt’s firm position calling for respect for Sudan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs, and that all contacts and diplomatic efforts currently being undertaken by Egypt are based on these determinants and aim to help Sudan get out of its plight and provide the appropriate environment for resolving differences through dialogue.
.As for Syria, The Syrian issue has recently become the focus of a number of meetings. A consultative meeting was held in Amman last Monday with the participation of the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and the Syrian regime.
At this meeting, the foreign ministers discussed ways of returning Syrian refugees from neighboring countries and extending the Syrian regime’s control over Syrian territory.
In mid-April, a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries was held in Jeddah, in which Egypt, Iraq and Jordan also participated to discuss the issue of Syria’s return to the Arab League.
The ministers agreed at the Jeddah meeting on the importance of playing an Arab leadership role in efforts to end the crisis in Syria.
Days after the meeting, the Saudi Foreign Minister visited Damascus, in the first official Saudi visit to Syria since the rupture between the two countries with the beginning of the conflict in Syria 12 years ago.
The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in November 2011.
Over the past two years, there have been signs of rapprochement between Damascus and several capitals, including Abu Dhabi, which restored diplomatic relations, and Riyadh, which held talks with Damascus on the resumption of consular services between the two countries.
The Arab countries are seeking to reach a consensus on whether to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh(Saudi Arabia) to discuss the pace of normalizing relations with Assad and the conditions for allowing Syria to return to the league.
The proposal to invite Assad to attend the Arab League summit was met with objections at the Jeddah meeting, with Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait saying it was premature and that Damascus should first accept to negotiate a peace plan.
