Elaraby: Next Arab Summit in Doha will Be Historic

Doha, January 16 (QNA) - Secretary General of Arab League Dr. Nabil Elaraby stressed that the upcoming Arab Summit to be held in Doha next March will be a historic summit because it will tackle very important topics on developing and reforming the Arab League and upgrading it from the first generation of international organizations to the third generation of international organizations. Dr. Elaraby said that he will visit Qatar in March to present the final touches in this regard to HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. In an interview with the Qatari daily (Al Watan), issued Wednesday, the Arab League Secretary General expressed surprise at the latest speech of Bashar al-Assad, describing it as unrealistic. He said the Syrian President is ignoring the fighting in the vicinity of Damascus and other cities and the progress made by the Syrian opposition on the ground, noting that UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is dealing with the crisis with tact. Dr. Elaraby said that he had more than a chance to talk with the Syrian leadership and draw their attention to the Egyptian experience in 2011. Regarding the humanitarian issue and the presence of more than one million Syrians living in conflict areas and threatened by hunger due to the restrictions imposed by the Syrian regime on the distribution of aid, Secretary General of Arab League Dr. Nabil Elaraby said that there are a close cooperation with the United Nations in this regard. Unfortunately, the Arab League has no direct relations with the Syrian regime in the recent period, he said, adding that the only way to contact with them is through the United Nations and Lakhdar Brahimi. Dr. Nabil Elaraby considered that Iran bears a heavy responsibility in the Syrian crisis because it assists the Syrian regime by sending fuel, money and possibly weapons. Dr. Elaraby also noted to the Chinese and Russian positions towards the Syrian regime, saying that during the stage of conflict, China and Russia have agreed to support each other against the Western world, though perhaps China has some other concerns. On the Palestinian issue, he said that Palestine's Legal Status represents a step forward, although it does not mean an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories, as this needs additional efforts. He explained that all fallacies and hearsay raised by Israel are baseless because Palestine is occupied by Israel, adding that Israel has no right now to take one inch of its territories, occupied since 1967. There is no peace process between Israel and Palestine because talk of peace turned into a process without peace aims at wasting time to give Israel additional time to build new settlements, Dr. Elaraby said. About the latest developments in Iraq, the Secretary General confirmed that the Arab League follows up with great concern what is happening there, but without interfering in the internal affairs. The Arab League had already played a prominent role in Iraqi reconciliation and there were meetings between Iraq and the Arab League, he said, noting that now there are ongoing consultations, and before his trip to UK he offered the League's readiness to provide any assistance to Iraq. Meanwhile, Dr. Elaraby considered that the Sudanese file a major concern of the Arab League, saying that there are limited communications between the Arab League and the State of South Sudan, unlike the case of the situation with the north of Sudan, where there consultations exchange with President Bashir. On the arrival of the Islamic movement to power in the Arab Spring countries, he said the if it exhibits the democratic path, that what is required. With regard to UAE's three islands, he confirmed that the Arab League supports all UAE's demands, calling for holding negotiations on the issue, resorting to arbitration, or presenting the issue at the International Court of Justice. (QNA)