Syria: Arab league calls for bigger efforts, political solution to end the Crisis

Syria: Arab league calls for bigger efforts, political solution to end the Crisis

Arab league summit urged Arab governments on Monday to do more to resolve the conflict in Syria, calling for a political solution to end the six-year crisis in the country.

Meetings of the Arab League at the level of foreign ministers kicked off Monday at the Dead Sea shores, in the presence of the Arab League’s Secretary General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The ministers discussed a number of political, security and economic issues in the region. They submitted the recommendations on these issues to be discussed during the meeting of the Council of the League of Arab States at its 28th ordinary session.

Aboul Gheit called for stopping the bloodshed in Syria and ending the war. He stressed that “the Arabs should not remain far from the biggest crisis in the region,” calling on everyone “to work in every possible way to activate the Arab presence in the major crises that dangerously threaten Arab national security.”

Aboul Gheit then said that the Arab citizen is concerned about the current crises, noting that “no refuge for Arabs but Arabs.”

“The Syrian crisis is the biggest crisis in the region, and it should not be left to Western countries to run as they please,” he said, stressing the importance of providing support to countries that hosted refugees.

“It is not right that this kind of terrible crisis gets passed over to international and regional powers to manage as they like and control according to their own interests,” he said.

“These conflicts all pose a serious threat to Arab security,” he said.

The bloc suspended Syria’s membership in late 2011 after anti-regime demonstrations were brutally repressed.

Abul Gheit in February ruled out an early Syrian return to the bloc, saying that this was up to the League’s 21 other members.

He said the issue would only be raised when “a political settlement” was in sight for Syria’s devastating civil war which has killed 320,000 people.

Political solution to fight terrorism

A political solution is a key issue for the success of the fight against terrorism in Syria, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday.

Answering journalists’ questions in Jordan, where he is visiting to attend the Arab Summit, UN chief said that fighting terrorism is important, but will not see success unless a comprehensive political solution is reached.

“Let’s be clear, it’s very important to fight terrorism but the fight against terrorism in Syria will not be successful if a political solution will not be found as well,” he said.

When asked about UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, UN’s top official applauded the former’s efforts, saying that he is doing “an amazing job.”

Guterres stressed that Geneva talks are going, wishing best success to de Mistura and all those that are meeting with him.

He also expressed his optimism about the talks, saying that they are important first step towards a political solution. “I strongly hope that this will be an important first step on the way to a comprehensive political solution,” he said.

Relating the safe zone which were recently the focus of mainstream media, Guterres said that if any safe zone is to be built there should be “absolute guarantees that the safety zone is fully put in place.”  He also said that creating safe zones where people can live is a “positive thing,” but should not “undermine the right to seek and enjoy asylum,” adding that safe zones should not be prisons.

The Syrian crisis began as a peaceful demonstration against the injustice in Syria. Assad regime used to fire power and violence against the civilians and led to armed resistance. 450.000 Syrians lost their lives in the past five years according to UN estimates, and more than 12 million have lost their homes