CAIRO – 19 May 2023: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has described Syria's return to the League of Arab States as a start of an Arab march towards resolving the Syrian crisis as he delivered a speech at the 32nd Arab League Summit on Friday.
“Syria's return to the League of Arab States constitutes a practical activation of the Arab role and the start of an Arab march towards resolving the Syrian crisis based on international references for the solution and Security Council Resolution No. 2254,” Sisi said.
Sisi highlighted the “harsh and exceptional circumstances” that the Arab region has witnessed over the recent years, which threatened the security and safety of the Arab peoples in an unprecedented way.
“It has been confirmed to every insightful person that preserving the national state and supporting its institutions is a duty and a necessity for the future of peoples and their capabilities,” Sisi said.
He added that “matters would go askew if the hopes of our peoples would remain vulnerable to chaos, external interventions, which exacerbate unrest, and let crisis resolution efforts reach a stalemate.”
Meanwhile, Sisi highlighted the Israeli “irresponsible” escalation in the Palestinian lands, including the recent Israeli acts in the Gaza Strip, which was concluded by an Egypt-mediated ceasefire.
“We have followed with sorrow and pain the impact of some Arab crises during the past period, especially due to Israel’s irresponsible escalation acts in the Palestinian lands, most recently in the Gaza Strip,” Sisi said.
“While Egypt reiterates its continued efforts to stabilize the calm, we warn that the continued management of the conflict by military and security [means] will have serious consequences for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples alike,” the president warned.
Sisi highlighted the Arab commitment to the strategic option of achieving comprehensive and just peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the Arab Peace Initiative on the basis of the resolutions of international legitimacy.
He also underlined the Arab demand for Israel to end the occupation and for the establishment of a Palestinian state along the borders of 4 June, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Sisi also addressed the clashes in Sudan and affirmed the need for concerted efforts to avoid its repercussions.
“A new crisis in Sudan is foreshadowing - if we do not cooperate to contain it- a prolonged conflict and catastrophic consequences for Sudan and the region,” Sisi stated.
He also called for the activation of joint Arab action to resolve the Libyan and Yemeni crises in a manner that is more pressing than ever.
The president emphasized that Egypt will wholeheartedly and faithfully support all genuine efforts to activate the Arab role.
This comes out of Egypt’s belief that joint Arab approaches are the best means to care for our interests, provide collective protection for our peoples and advance development with big strides forward, Sisi affirmed.
The 32nd Arab League summit kicked off on Friday in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah with the participation of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for the first time in 13 years. Sisi appeared while shaking hands with Assad as they met ahead of the start of the summit.
Assad’s participation comes as the Arab League welcomed back the Syrian government in May after more than a decade of suspension and agreed to form a ministerial contact committee to find a comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis.
In a speech at the summit, Assad called for reviewing the Arab League Charter and its internal system to meet the nowadays requirements and also urged healing the rifts that occurred over the past decade.
The session also saw the participation of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he denounced the Russian invasion of his country, which broke out in February last year.
“Today is the 450th day of the full-scale war waged against us by Russian invaders,” Zelensky said during the session. “I hope that most of us are here for the sake of peace and justice,” he added.
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