Arab nations gather to discuss ending Syria’s long isolation
- Ministers and officials from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries meet as regional relations shift after Saudi and Iran’s decision to resume ties
- Syria’s suspension from the Arab League was imposed when President Bashar al-Assad’s government launched a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011
Arab countries gathered in Jeddah on Friday to discuss ending Syria’s long spell in the diplomatic wilderness, as regional relations shift following Saudi Arabia and Iran’s decision to resume ties.
Ministers and top officials from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – plus Egypt, Iraq and Jordan were to meet at Saudi Arabia’s request.
Up for discussion in the Red Sea city is Syria’s suspension from the Arab League, imposed when President Bashar al-Assad’s government launched a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.
Backed by Iran and Russia, Assad has been shunned by many Middle Eastern countries and is a Western pariah over the 12-year war, which has killed more than half-a-million people and forced about half of Syria’s pre-war population from their homes.
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But on Wednesday, in the latest sign of an easing in tensions with Damascus, Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Jeddah, the first such visit since the war began.