Syria not invited to Arab summit

AMMAN — Syria will not be invited to take part in the Arab League summit that is scheduled to take place in Amman in March, a top official said on Thursday.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani, who is also the government’s spokesperson, said at a press conference at the Prime Ministry that the decision comes in implementation of an earlier Arab League decision when it suspended Syria’s membership at the beginning of the six-year crisis. 

Accordingly, the minister added, it will not be invited to have representatives in March’s summit.

He stopped short of saying if opposition figures would be attending  the gathering. 

Syria was excluded from the Arab League at an emergency session of the league in November 2011 in Cairo, over Damascus’ failure to end the conflict.

The league also agreed to impose economic and political sanctions on Syria over its refusal to stop the violence, and appealed to its member states to withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus.

However, Jordan kept diplomatic ties with Damascus until May 2014, when it declared Syrian ambassador Bahjat Suleiman a persona non grata.

The decision came due to the envoy’s repeated insults and offences targeting Jordan and its leadership, institutions and citizens, through his meetings with various personalities, statements and posts on social media networks.

Momani also noted that a committee formed and chaired by Prime Minister Hani Mulki will meet on Sunday to discuss details related to the summit.