AQABA: Top diplomats from eight Arab countries, meeting in Jordan on Saturday (Dec 14), called for a peaceful transition in Syria with UN and Arab League support following Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.
In a final statement after the talks in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba, foreign ministers from Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar said they had agreed to “support a peaceful transition process” in Syria, “in which all political and social forces are represented”.
Anti-Assad forces, led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled the longtime ruler on Sunday following a lightning offensive.
HTS is rooted in Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch and is designated as a “terrorist” organisation by many Western governments but has sought to moderate its rhetoric.
A transitional government installed by the rebel forces has insisted the rights of all Syrians will be protected, as will the rule of law.
The foreign ministers, meeting in Aqaba in the presence of Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said the political process in Syria should be supported by “the United Nations and the Arab League, in accordance with the principles of Security Council Resolution 2254” of 2015, which set out a roadmap for a negotiated settlement.
