Egypt’s FM, UN Envoy discuss Syrian crisis ahead of Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia

CAIRO – 14 May 2023: Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry received phone call, on Sunday, from the United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen, four days ahead of the Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia amid high expectation of the reinstatement of Syria’s membership in the league at the Saudi-host meeting.

The call came “in light of the continued consultation between the two sides on ways to deal with the Syrian crisis on the Arab and international level during the coming period,” said Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid in a statement.

During the call, both sides discussed the Arab League’s latest decision held on May 7 with the regard of the resumption of participation of Syrian government delegations in the Saudi Arabia-host meeting, Abu Zeid added.

They stressing the need to take effective steps towards resolving the crisis in a step-by-step approach and in accordance with Security Council Resolution No. 2254, Abu Zeid continued.

The call also dealt with the formation of a ministerial committee with the membership of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to follow up on the implementation of the Amman Declaration and to communicate directly with the Syrian government.

Amman Declaration aims at solving the Syrian crisis through a political way. This came during a meeting held by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, in Amman, with the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Faisal Al-Miqdad.