A planned meeting of Arab and European Union (EU) ministers is postponed indefinitely because of the position of the members of the Arab League, which recently decided to restore Syria's full membership in the regional organization. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, who is visiting the Egyptian capital, said this on Monday.
"The sixth Arab-European ministerial meeting, which was scheduled for this week, has been postponed because of Damascus' return to the Arab League," Borrel said, quoted by the Egyptian TV channel eXtra news. The head of European diplomacy explained that resuming Syria's membership in the League "a sovereign decision [of Arab countries] that we respect." However, he added, "this step was taken despite the fact that Damascus has not made any meaningful efforts to resolve the [intra-Syrian] conflict."
He also pointed out that the EU's position on this issue will not change until Syria "makes progress in implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolutions."
On May 7, the Council of the Arab League in Cairo decided to resume Syria's full participation in the activities of the association. A few days later, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 2010.
Damascus' membership in the League was suspended in November 2011 in the midst of an internal crisis that escalated into armed conflict. After the earthquake of February 6, 2023, most of the Arab states went closer to Syria and provided significant humanitarian assistance.
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Based on materials from TASS