Syria's Assad Lands In Saudi Arabia For Arab League Summit

 

Al Jazeera: Syria’s Assad arrives in Saudi Arabia in first visit since war 

President Bashar al-Assad to attend the Arab League summit on Friday, a sign of his regional rehabilitation. 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, according to Al-Arabiya TV and Syrian state television. 

Al-Assad will attend the Arab League summit on Friday after Syria was reinstated to the regional organisation this month, more than 11 years after its suspension.  

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: No question about it. this is a huge win for Syrain President Assad, and a huge loss for the West. Update: Syrian President Assad has just been invited to COP28 .... Syrian president Assad invited to COP28 climate summit by the UAE (CNN). 

Syria's Assad Lands In Saudi Arabia For Arab League Summit  

Syria’s Assad arrives in Saudi Arabia for regional summit, sealing his return to the Arab fold -- AP

Arab League head welcomes Syria back into the bloc -- Reuters 

Syria's Assad lands in Saudi for Arab summit: state TV -- Al-Monitor/AFP  

Syria’s Assad Rejoins Arab League For the First Time in 13 Years -- New York Times 

Saudi Arabia Welcomes Assad in Diplomatic Win for Syrian Leader -- Bloomberg

Arab League Refuses To Condemn The Israel-UAE Peace Deal

Al Jazeera: Arab League: Ministers agree not to condemn UAE-Israel deal

After three-hour talks, some Arab countries attempted to add provisions to give legitimacy to the normalisation deal.

Palestinian leaders won renewed Saudi support for Palestinian statehood on Wednesday but failed to persuade the Arab League to condemn last month's normalisation deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

At a video conference of foreign ministers, the Palestinian leadership softened its censure of the UAE over the US-brokered August 13 accord - to be formalised at a signing ceremony at the White House next week - in the hope of getting more Arab support, but to no avail.

"Discussions regarding this point were serious. It was comprehensive and took some time. But it did not lead in the end to agreement about the draft resolution that was proposed by the Palestinian side," Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told reporters.

According to a Palestinian diplomatic source, the Arab League dropped the draft resolution condemning the controversial Israeli-UAE agreement.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Palestinians are in shock .... Palestinians Reeling from Arab League Rebuff (Hamodia). They should not be. A number of Arab states have been signalling for years that they want to move on, and the UAE is the first to make that major step. This is also a story that the Western media is downplaying. They should not. This agreement is the template for other Arab countries to join in.

The State Of The Arab World In One Picture

Arab leaders pose for a photo during the 29th Arab League Summit in Dhahran city, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday April 14, 2018. press photo

Simon Henderson, The Hill: Awaiting change: State of the Arab world is captured in photo from Saudi summit

It is going to be a long, hot summer in the Middle East — continuing civil wars in Syria and Yemen, tension on the Israel-Gaza border, the Iran nuclear deal being extended or ending, the opening next month of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, and who knows what else will happen. Some of this turmoil may be self-inflicted, but all are challenges for U.S. policy.

How will it all work out? The recent Arab summit in the Saudi city of Dhahran provides an opportunity for assessing the state of the Arab world, which includes several important American allies, and the extent to which Washington can hope for help as the summer progresses.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: My gut is telling me that five to ten years from now most of these leaders will be gone.

Saudi Arabia Calls For An Emergency Arab League Meeting Over 'Iran's Interference'

Saudi Arabia on Sunday urged the Arab League to hold an urgent meeting of Arab foreign ministers to curb Iran's intervention in the Mideast region. (Xinhua Photo)

Daily Sabah: Arab League to hold snap meeting on Iran at Saudi request

The Arab League will hold an extraordinary meeting next Sunday at the request of Saudi Arabia to discuss "violations" committed by Iran in the region, according to an official memorandum seen Sunday.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates supported the Saudi request, which was also approved by Djibouti, the current chair of the Arab League.

Read more ....

More News On Saudi Arabia Calling For An Emergency Arab League Meeting Over 'Iran's Interference'

UPDATED: Arab League to meet on Iran at Saudi request: Diplomats -- Al Ahram/AFP
Saudi Arabia requests urgent Arab League meeting over Iran: Egypt state news -- Reuters
Saudi urges urgent Arab League meeting to curb Iran intervention -- New China
Riyadh Calls for Emergency Arab League Meeting Over 'Iran's Interference' -- Sputnik International
UAE, Bahrain agree on Saudi demand to hold emergency meeting -- Egypt Today

Watch As Screaming Arab League Members Accuse Each Other Of Terrorism (Update)

"No. When I speak you be quiet."

Things got heated between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE at this week's Arab League meeting. pic.twitter.com/C4Lc8VwvdE

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 13, 2017

Zero Hedge: "You Rabid Dogs!": Watch As Screaming Arab League Members Accuse Each Other Of Terrorism

We knew it was coming. An Arab League showdown on Tuesday turned into a shouting match involving allies turned bitter enemies Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates.

Currently Qatar is being boycotted by four other Arab states and the once strong Gulf Cooperation Council alliance (GCC) is in shambles. Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi immediately raised the boycott in his opening remarks though the dispute was supposed to be carefully avoided and wasn't on the agenda. He called Qatar's gulf enemies, especially Saudi Arabia, “rabid dogs”.

Read more ....

Previous Post: Qatar Trades Barbs With The Four States Boycotting It At The Arab League (September 12, 2017)

WNU Editor: I predicted a three months ago that Qatar's dispute with its neighbors would be over in a month or two ....  I was wrong. The animosity between Qatar and its neighbors are clearly poisonous .... and I suspect that this dispute is going to go on for a long time.

Arab League Agrees To The Formation Of A Unified Regional Military Force

Snapshot from State TV of the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi specks during the closing session of Arab Summit, in Sharm el Sheik, South Sinai, Egypt, Saturday, March 28, 2015 (Photo: State TV)

IBTimes/Reuters: Arab League Summit: Leaders To Announce Unified Force To Counter Security Threats

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) -- Arab leaders at a summit in Egypt will announce the formation of a unified regional force to counter growing security threats, according to a draft of the final communique, as conflicts rage from Yemen to Libya. The summit will also call on Iranian-allied Houthi fighters, who have made rapid advances in Yemen, to leave that country’s capital and hand over their arms to “legitimate” authorities, said the draft, obtained by Reuters.

Working out the mechanism and logistics of the unified force, an idea floated by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, could take months. Previous similar schemes have failed to produce tangible results in the divided Arab world.

More News On The Arab League Agreeing To The Formation Of A Unified Regional Military Force

El-Sisi says Arab League 'agrees in principle' to form a voluntary joint military force -- Ahram Online
Arab League leaders agree joint military force -- Al Arabiya
Arab leaders agree joint military force -- AFP
Arab leaders announce joint army to counter regional threats -- YNet News
Arab League agrees to create joint Arab military force - Egypt’s president -- RT
Why Arab armies won’t save Yemen -- Bobby Ghosh, Quartz

Arab League Monitors To Remain In Syria

Arab League To Increase The Number Of Its Monitors In Syria -- L.A. Times

REPORTING FROM CAIRO AND BEIRUT — The Arab League is pressing ahead with a heavily criticized observer mission in Syria, saying that it will increase the number of monitors and calling on all sides to halt months of bloodshed.

The announcements came after the head of the mission briefed an Arab League ministerial committee in Cairo on Sunday on the preliminary findings of the observers, who are monitoring Syria's compliance with regional demands to end a violent crackdown on a nearly 10-month uprising.

Read more ....

More News On The Arab League And Syria

Arab League to send more inspectors to monitor events in Syria -- The Guardian
Arab League Officials Vow to Continue Syria Mission -- Voice of America
Arab League renews call to end violence in Syria -- BBC
Arab League monitors to remain in Syria despite criticisms -- Washington Post
Arab League repeats demand for Syrian regime to halt all violence, forces kill 10 civilians -- Washington Post/AP
Arab League urges end to Syria violence -- Financial Times
Syria: Arab League refuses to withdraw observer mission -- The Telegraph
Arab League stops short of turning to UN on Syria -- Jerusalem Post

My Comment: For Syria's rebels, this Arab League summit has been a big disappointment.