الرئيسية
RIYADH, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab officials,
preparing for a summit on Monday in Saudi Arabia, have expressed
hope that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would finally sign an
Arab League peace deal aimed at ending a crackdown on protests
and averting a civil war.
The crisis in Syria and a dispute with Iran will likely be
high on the agenda of the meeting of Gulf Arab leaders in the
Saudi capital Riyadh, their first summit since Arab uprisings
transformed the Middle East this year.
After six weeks of Syrian stalling, Qatar said it had
information Assad would sign the plan, which calls for
withdrawing the army from towns that have turned against him,
freeing thousands of political prisoners, starting dialogue with
the opposition and letting monitors into the country.
"We have information that indicates that he will sign the
initiative. If this is true or not true we'll see," Qatari
Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said in
Riyadh, in remarks carried by al-Arabiya Television.
"If they don't sign we will take the matter to the Security
Council to adopt all the resolutions which have been taken by
the Arab League," Sheikh Hamad told reporters.
Omani Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah said:
"We are optimistic that Syria will join the Arab League in
signing the protocol, which is ready now, within 24 hours."
"That is what we hope for. If not, the Arab League foreign
ministers will meet on Wednesday to consider measures that might
be taken in the future," he said in Riyadh on Sunday afternoon.
The Arab League has suspended Syria's membership and
announced sanctions over Assad's refusal so far to sign up to
its peace plan.
Arab ministers are set to meet later this week and could
decide to submit their plan to the U.N. Security Council, making
it a potential basis for wider international action.
RISING TENSIONS ACROSS GULF
The two-day Gulf meeting comes a week after Iran's
Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi held talks in Riyadh to try
to calm rising tensions across the Gulf.
preparing for a summit on Monday in Saudi Arabia, have expressed
hope that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would finally sign an
Arab League peace deal aimed at ending a crackdown on protests
and averting a civil war.
The crisis in Syria and a dispute with Iran will likely be
high on the agenda of the meeting of Gulf Arab leaders in the
Saudi capital Riyadh, their first summit since Arab uprisings
transformed the Middle East this year.
After six weeks of Syrian stalling, Qatar said it had
information Assad would sign the plan, which calls for
withdrawing the army from towns that have turned against him,
freeing thousands of political prisoners, starting dialogue with
the opposition and letting monitors into the country.
"We have information that indicates that he will sign the
initiative. If this is true or not true we'll see," Qatari
Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said in
Riyadh, in remarks carried by al-Arabiya Television.
"If they don't sign we will take the matter to the Security
Council to adopt all the resolutions which have been taken by
the Arab League," Sheikh Hamad told reporters.
Omani Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah said:
"We are optimistic that Syria will join the Arab League in
signing the protocol, which is ready now, within 24 hours."
"That is what we hope for. If not, the Arab League foreign
ministers will meet on Wednesday to consider measures that might
be taken in the future," he said in Riyadh on Sunday afternoon.
The Arab League has suspended Syria's membership and
announced sanctions over Assad's refusal so far to sign up to
its peace plan.
Arab ministers are set to meet later this week and could
decide to submit their plan to the U.N. Security Council, making
it a potential basis for wider international action.
RISING TENSIONS ACROSS GULF
The two-day Gulf meeting comes a week after Iran's
Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi held talks in Riyadh to try
to calm rising tensions across the Gulf.