Arab League head Nabil al-Araby met with a delegation from the Syrian opposition on Monday to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis there.
In the meeting, Araby expressed concern regarding Syria’s ongoing sectarian clashes and confirmed his faith in the new UN envoy to Syria, al-Akhdar al-Ibrahimi. The opposition delegation countered by saying that Ibrahimi would do no better at resolving the situation than his predecessor, Kofi Anan.
Ahmed Moussa, a representative of the Kuridsh National Council, said the meeting was held in order to discuss the work of the UN’s monitoring and communication committee.
"We have not decided to form a cabinet yet, but we totally reject unilateral suggestions," said Moussa, adding that the Syrian opposition will reach such a decision in the right time.
“We want to end a regional conflict regarding Syria that exists between the Gulf countries and Turkey on the one hand, and Iran on the other,” said opposition member Samir al-Eita, commenting on Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy’s proposal to establish an international committee to work on resolving the conflict.
Anan had tried to bring together the five permanent members in the Security Council along with Saudi Arabia and Iran in one meeting, but he failed, Eita added. It would be a positive step if Morsy managed to hold such a meeting, he said.
Deputy Arab League Chief Ahmed Bin Hali, expressed regret over the sectarian strife in Syria. "The violence in Syria does not differentiate between militants and civilians," he said. He also expressed regret for the failure of all international initiatives to solve the Syrian crisis.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
