Diplomats from Arab nations are planning an emergency meeting in Cairo over the weekend about the fighting in Sudan and the prospect of Syria’s return to the Arab League more than a decade after its membership was suspended, an official said Friday, according to The Associated Press.
Sunday’s meeting, confirmed by Gamal Rushdy, a spokesman for the Arab League, comes as some Arab countries, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have opened up relations with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and their foreign ministers have visited Damascus in recent weeks.
The pan-Arab bloc froze Syria's membership in November 2011 over the bloody government crackdown on protesters.
In December of 2018, reports emerged that Gulf nations were moving to readmit Syria into the Arab League and that it could be readmitted some time in 2019.
Three months later, however, the Arab League poured cold water on those reports and said it was not planning to discuss reinstating Syria's membership.
In March, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister said increased engagement with Syria might pave the way for its return to the Arab League, though he stressed it was too early to discuss such a step.
News of the meeting comes a day after Jordan’s Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, said that Syria should soon be able to return to the Arab League, though he warned that many challenges lie ahead in resolving the country's more than decade-old conflict.
Saudi Arabia is hosting the next Arab League summit on May 19, when Syria’s membership is widely expected to be on the table. Some members, mainly gas-rich Qatar, have opposed Damascus’ return to the organization.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)