A delegation of senior Arab parliamentarians arrived in
Damascus, the capital of Syria, to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad and
discuss the current situation in the country.
The heads of Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Libya and Egypt and
representatives from Oman and Lebanon arrived in Syria as part of a delegation
from the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union. They met with Syrian parliamentarians
and Assad.
Iraqi parliament Speaker Mohammed Halbousi said, “We cannot
do without Syria and Syria cannot do without its Arab environment, which we
hope it can return to.”
According to the news agency SANA, the senior Arab
parliamentarians talked with Assad after more than a decade of isolation over
the conflict and crisis in Syria. Many countries slammed Assad’s deadly
crackdown against protesters in huge demonstrations that erupted against his
rule in 2011. In 2011, Arab League suspended Syria’s membership over the
conflict in the country. Subsequently, Arab countries pulled their envoys out
of Syria.
The recent earthquake changed the scenario in Syria. Assad
and Syria received support and humanitarian aid from Arab states following the
destructive earthquake on February 6, which killed more than 5,900 people
across Syria.
On February 7, Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah El-Sisi called
Assad for the first time to send his condolences to earthquake victims.
Jordan’s foreign minister also made his first trip to Syria on February 15 to
check on earthquake victims in the country. Assad also travelled to Oman on
February 20. Sultan Haitham bin Tareq and Assad held official talks. The Omani
ruler gave his condolences and sincere sympathy to Assad.
According to Arab News, the lawmakers affirmed the Arab
League’s intentions of having Syria return to the Arab organisation despite the
war in Syria.
Egypt’s parliament Speaker Hanafy El-Gebaly said that the
Arab delegation visited brotherly Syria to support the Syrian people.