The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has called for a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of Syria's return to the Arab League, according to media reports from Gulf countries. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, next Friday, with the participation of foreign ministers from GCC countries as well as foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq.
On the same day, Qatar announced it received an invitation from the GCC Secretariat to attend the meeting in Jeddah to exchange views on Syria's potential return to the Arab League. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari stated that the main aim of "this consultative meeting," which includes Gulf countries in addition to Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq, is to "discuss the situation in Syria."
He noted that "there are many developments regarding the situation in Syria and Arab perspectives on Syria's return to the Arab League." Al-Ansari highlighted that Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt were invited as they are "countries concerned in this matter." He emphasized that Qatar's position has not changed, stating that any change in the stance toward Syria is "primarily linked to Arab consensus and to a change on the ground that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people."
In the past two months, there has been noticeable political activity, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's visits to the UAE and Oman, as well as visible diplomatic activity following the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, exemplified by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry's visit to Damascus and then Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad's visit to Cairo.
Earlier, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia plans to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend the Arab summit in Riyadh, scheduled for May 19.
