Syria's Return to the Arab League Middle East reconciliation ushered in a climax

Guangming Daily reporter Lin Ziou Xiao Tianyi

On May 7, the League of Arab States (LAS) issued a statement saying that at a special meeting held in Cairo on the same day, it decided to agree to restore Syria's membership in the Arab League. The foreign ministers of the participating Arab countries agreed that it is necessary to continue to strengthen efforts to "help Syria out of the crisis."

Analysts generally believe that the successful "ice-breaking" of relations between Syria and Arab countries is due to the current warming environment in the Middle East, and seeking peace, seeking cooperation and promoting development have become the common aspirations of regional countries.

Syria returns to the Arab League "circle of friends" after 12 years

At the special meeting of the League of Arab States at the level of foreign ministers held on the 7th, it reaffirmed "the commitment to maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, stability and regional integrity of Syria in accordance with the Charter of the League and its principles." The meeting also agreed to establish a ministerial committee composed of the secretaries-general of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and the League of Arab States to continue "direct dialogue with the Syrian government with a view to reaching a comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis."

Arab League Secretary-General Gheit said on the same day that the decision will allow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to participate in the Arab League summit to be held in Saudi Arabia on the 19th of this month. But at the same time, he also explained that the resumption of Syria's membership in the Arab League does not mean that member states must restore diplomatic relations with Syria, and whether or not to resume diplomatic relations depends on the will of each country itself. There is still a long way to go to resolve the Syrian issue, but this is in the common interest of Arab countries.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the same day, saying that Syria believes that dialogue and joint action to deal with the challenges faced by Arab countries is of great significance. This is in the interest of all Arab countries and is conducive to the achievement of security, stability and prosperity in the Arab region.

After the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011, the Arab League suspended Syria's membership, and several Arab countries closed their embassies in Syria. Syria has also been under sanctions by the United States and other Western countries, and the political and economic situation has fallen into a trough. In recent years, with the evolution of the situation in Syria and the region, relations between the Syrian government and the Arab world have gradually warmed up, and many countries have reopened their embassies in Syria or border crossings with Syria, and the voice of supporting Syria's return to the "Arab embrace" has gradually increased.

In March last year, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited the United Arab Emirates for the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis. In early February this year, a strong earthquake struck the border areas of Syria and Turkey, and many Arab countries quickly launched humanitarian assistance to Syria. On May 1, the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and Syria met in the Jordanian capital Amman, stressing the priority of resolving the Syrian crisis. On the 3rd, Iranian President Raisi visited Syria after 12 years, and the two countries signed long-term trade, oil and other related agreements. Driven by regional powers, Syria's return to the Arab family has become the inevitable trend.

"Syria's return to the Arab League marks the culmination of the recent 'reconciliation wave' in the Middle East." Tian Wenlin, a professor at the School of International Relations of Chinese Minmin University, said in an interview that the Syrian crisis is the most concentrated focus of contradictions in the Arab world at present, and is called a "mini-world war" because it involves sectarian disputes, regional powers, and foreign powers. The realization of a "soft landing" today not only paves the way for Arab countries and the international community to support Syria's economic reconstruction, but also means that the situation of previous conflicts in the Middle East has turned into a new stage of unprecedented peace and development.

The Middle East's "Diplomatic Spring" brings new opportunities

After the Shai reconciliation, Qatar's Al Jazeera borrowed the Arabic proverb "seek knowledge, even if it is far away in China" and praise "seek peace, even if it is far away in China". The Shah-Iraq reconciliation has not only set an example of resolving contradictions and differences through dialogue and consultation, but has won the universal support of the Arab people, and has also led the trend of reconciliation and dialogue in the Middle East.

Since then, within one day on April 12, Tunisia and Syria resumed diplomatic relations, Bahrain and Qatar resumed diplomatic relations, and the delegations of Syria and Iran visited Saudi Arabia on the same day. Ceasefire, resumption of diplomatic relations, reconciliation and development have become the keywords of the new round of changes in the Middle East, and have also brought new opportunities for resolving the Syrian crisis.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have been on opposite sides of the Syrian crisis for a long time, so the historic reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran has had a direct impact on the "ice-breaking" between Syria and the Arab world. In April, Saudi Foreign Minister visited Damascus, the capital of Syria, for the first time in 12 years, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and resumed consular services and civil aviation flights between the two countries. Tian Wenlin believes that this reflects the "resonance effect" of politics in the Middle East, and the political transformation of regional powers will trigger a chain reaction in the region. For a long time, regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey have gradually realized that isolating a country and instigating regime change will do more harm than good, and the problems derived from terrorism and refugees will eventually engulf other countries in the region. Inclusiveness, acceptance and the promotion of reconciliation have become the mainstream of the region, and the "reconciliation tide" in the Middle East is a concrete embodiment of the collective shift in the foreign policy of regional powers.

In addition, the "tide of reconciliation" in the Middle East also reflects the reluctance of Arab countries to become vassals of power struggles among major powers, the increasing autonomy of diplomatic strategy, and the further decline of US influence in the Middle East. Gate said on the day of the Arab League statement that many US and Western countries are not expected to be happy with this decision, but it is an independent decision of Arab countries. Bloomberg analysis pointed out that the Arab League's decision to "ignore the United States" reflects Washington's weakening influence in oil-exporting regions.

Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies at Shanghai Overseas Chinese University, said that now Arab countries have realized the destructive role played by the United States in the Middle East, and its essence is to use the contradictions between regional countries to achieve their own interests. It is not feasible to rely on the means of Western countries to achieve so-called "democracy", and the countries of the Middle East have paid a heavy price for it. The only way to solve regional problems is development, and it has become the consensus of all countries to seek self-improvement and stability at home and unity and cooperation externally.

The Global Security Initiative has laid solid foundations for peace

In the face of global challenges such as the new crown epidemic, the Ukraine crisis, and the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes, the new diplomatic paradigm of peaceful coexistence is replacing the traditional geopolitical game as the general consensus of countries in the Middle East. China has actively implemented the Global Security Initiative and successfully mediated the Shah-Iran reconciliation, which has effectively promoted peace and stability in the Middle East and shown the world that the Global Security Initiative is not only credible but also feasible. China has always supported Arab countries in unity and self-improvement and actively promoted Syria's return to the Arab League. Last month, Zhai Jun, the Chinese government's special envoy for the Middle East, visited Syria; Recently, China sent a working group to visit relevant Arab countries to have in-depth communication on the issue of Syria's return to the Arab League. On the day of the Arab League's statement, Wang Di, director of the Department of Asia and Africa of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, was visiting Qatar, one of the few Middle Eastern countries opposed to Syria's return to the Arab League. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Syrian Foreign Minister Migdad will also visit China in the near future.

The Times of Israel said that with the historic handshake and peace between the two "old enemies" of Shai and Iran under the mediation of China, many countries in the Middle East have reached reconciliation or eased relations, high-level visits have entered a period of frequent times, relations between countries have improved significantly, and a multipolar Middle East is taking shape.

Xiber, an expert on regional issues at the Egyptian National Planning Institute, believes that the Shah-Iran reconciliation has warmed the hearts of the people of Middle East countries and marked a new stage of regional balance and political interaction, in which China's mediation and global security initiatives have played a key role. The recent "wave of reconciliation" in the Middle East proves that conflicts can be de-escalated through dialogue and cooperation among States.

Tian Wenlin believes that China's global security initiative coincides with the needs of Middle Eastern countries. The Shah-Iran reconciliation is a vivid practice of the Global Security Initiative, and with the resolution of major regional contradictions, the Syrian crisis affected by it has also been alleviated, which once again proves that the Global Security Initiative is effective in resolving the Middle East issue and even conflicts around the world, and provides a win-win solution that reflects China's wisdom.

Liu Zhongmin said that separatism and conflict are the root cause restricting the development of the Middle East, and the "tide of reconciliation" in the Middle East has made the deepening differences and disputes in the region over the past decade see the hope of bottoming out. There can be no security without peace and no development without security, and the Global Security Initiative has injected a catalyst for the countries of the Middle East to abandon the zero-sum mentality and solve problems through dialogue and consultation, which will further promote the unity and self-strengthening of the Arab world.

(Guangming Ribao, Beijing, May 9)

Guang Ming Daily(Version 12, May 10, 2023)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily