NOURNEWS - The 32nd annual meeting of Arab heads of state was held on Friday, May 29, hosted by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah.
This meeting had an obvious difference from other meetings of the Arab League, and that was the presence of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after 12 years, as well as the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The developments of this meeting and its final statement express important facts:
First; Bashar Assad's presence in the Jeddah meeting was based on the official invitation of the host, Saudi Arabia, which was widely welcomed by the members, and everyone considered the return of Damascus to the Arab League as a promise of a bright future for this union.
In this regard; The Arab countries in their speeches and in the final statement officially supported the Syrian government and Assad personally and emphasized the need for Arab countries to unite in supporting Damascus to establish stability and security and end terrorism and the withdrawal of illegal foreign forces from this country.
In the same framework, "Mohammed bin Salman", the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, as the host of the meeting, while officially welcoming Assad, who became the subject of many world media, expressed his happiness at his presence in this meeting.
Asharq News channel also reported by quoting Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud; The final statement of the Jeddah meeting emphasized the strengthening of joint cooperation between Arab countries, and Saudi Arabia hopes that the return of Syria to the Arab League will end the crisis in this country.
Stating that Saudi Arabia will also discuss relations with Syria with the Europeans, he continued: From Riyadh's point of view, the current situation in Syria cannot continue. Finding real solutions for the Syrian crisis is only possible through cooperation with the Damascus government.
"Ahmed Aboul Gheit", the Secretary General of the Arab League, said in a press meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister: "Regarding the return of Syria to the Arab League, we should act far from the views of foreign countries."
Second; On the other hand; Zelenskyy's presence as a guest was only for a speech at this meeting, and the attendees did not have any commitment towards Ukraine neither in the words nor in the final statement.
Although Ukraine's president tried to create an emotional atmosphere on this meeting and public opinion with his Hollywood gestures, but in the end, the Arab League did not support his positions and only emphasized the need to end the crisis of the ongoing war and achieve peace.
Interestingly; Simultaneously with Zelenskyy's speech, the message of "Vladimir Putin" to this meeting was also read, and he emphasized Moscow's cooperation with Arab countries within the framework of common interests and called this process continuous.
This simultaneity showed the Arab League's attempt to play the role of a mediator, which was clearly done with Saudi Arabia's crown prince's planning to restore the Arab League's global position after years of regional and global inaction.
Third; What should be noted about the Jeddah meeting, despite Zelenskyy's presence in this meeting, is the further weakening of America's position among old allies in the region. Although some media called Zelenskyy's presence as a sign of convergence of this union with the United States, in fact, this meeting once again revealed the distance of the Arab countries from the United States.
Although the Western countries emphasized on providing arms and financial support to Ukraine at the G7 meeting in Japan and before that, no mention of assistance to Kiev was made at the Arab League meeting, and it was not even mentioned in the final statement.
This approach contrary to the wishes of the United States was adopted by the Arab League, while at the same time, the Arab League, in its final statement on issues such as the just settlement for the Palestinian issue, the stoppage of foreign interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries, and the appreciation of Saudi Arabia's attention to creating suitable conditions To achieve economic growth in the West Asia, to support the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, to increase Arab countries efforts to help Syria overcome the crisis, and to strengthen suitable conditions for the return of Syrian refugees, Supporting the meetings of Sudanese groups in Jeddah, electing a president for Lebanon and forming a government as soon as possible, supporting the continuation of the chain of basic food aid to Arab countries, supporting the efforts to integrate the Libyan armed forces and stabilizing the ceasefire, and supporting the efforts of the UN in This country welcomed the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in order to activate the security and economic cooperation agreement between the parties.
All these issues are the same principles that America has repeatedly declared its opposition to many of them or has laid stones on the way to their realization.
To be more precise; The main message of the Arab League meeting can be seen as the reduction of America's role in the region and more realism among these countries to stay away from America as the ultimate solution to save the region from years of crisis and instability.
BY: Mohammad Ghaderi
NOURNEWS