The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has urged the Syrian regime to implement the resolutions issued at last year’s Amman and Cairo meetings, affirming its support for reaching a political solution in Syria.
This came in the final statement of the GCC’s sixtieth session at the ministerial level, held on Sunday, June 9, in the Qatari capital, Doha, chaired by Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, with the presence of the foreign ministers of the Gulf countries except for the UAE.
The GCC emphasized its support for the United Nations’ efforts to reach a political solution in Syria consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and other relevant UN resolutions.
The council also supported the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, and the efforts made to care for Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons, working towards their voluntary and safe return to their country, and rejecting any attempts to bring about demographic changes in Syria.
The ministerial council reaffirmed its support for the efforts of the Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee regarding the Syrian crisis, calling on the Syrian regime to implement the commitments made at the consultative meeting in Amman on May 1, 2023, and the meeting on Syria held in Cairo on August 15, 2023. The council also expressed its hope for the resumption of the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee.
The GCC praised Saudi Arabia’s decision to appoint its ambassador to Syria and underscored the importance of maintaining Syria’s territorial integrity, respecting its independence and sovereignty over its own land, and rejecting regional interventions in its internal affairs, denouncing the repeated Israeli attacks on Syria.
The Jordanian capital, Amman, hosted the Arab consultative meeting in May 2023, with the attendance of the foreign ministers of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Egypt. At the time, they called on the Syrian regime to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2254, combat drug smuggling, resume the Constitutional Committee, ensure the voluntary and safe return of refugees to their homeland, improve public services, and resolve the issue of internally displaced persons, particularly those in the Rukban camp.
On August 15, 2023, the Egyptian capital, Cairo, hosted the first meeting of the Arab Liaison Committee on Syria, attended by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria. They reiterated that a political solution is the only way to end the ongoing crisis in the country since 2011 and emphasized the importance of implementing the resolutions of the Amman consultative meeting.
The Arab Liaison Committee on Syria postponed its second meeting, which was scheduled for last month in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, until further notice.
The Al-Modon website reported at the time that the Arab Liaison Committee was frustrated with the Syrian regime for not responding to the requirements proposed by the Jordanian side, noting that Jordan suggested to the Arab committee ministers to postpone the meeting, which was immediately supported by Saudi Arabia, followed by agreements from other members.
The committee’s requirements resulting from the Amman and Cairo meetings, particularly the fight against drug smuggling, the resumption of the Constitutional Committee, the safe return of refugees, and resolving the issue of the Rukban camp, remain unfulfilled to date.