Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday said the Arab League “could play a more important, more effective role” if Syria were to be returned to the 21-member organisation.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, the Russian official said Syria is a “legitimate” member of the United Nations, yet “cannot take part in discussions inside the Arab League”.

Syria’s membership in the league was suspended in 2011 over the brutal repression of the demonstrations against the regime.

Keeping Syria out of the Arab organisation “does not help our joint efforts”, said Lavrov, whose country is a key supporter of the Damascus regime and a broker in peace efforts.

The head of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who attended the press conference as well, said any decision on Syria is up to the Arab League members, but the issue is not on the organisation’s agenda for the time being, and would only be discussed when “a political settlement” of the close to six years of civil war in this Arab country is reached.

Such reasoning surely helps Arab countries wash their hands of Syria.

True, Syria was expelled from the organisation for clear reasons. In time, more criminal acts, both by government forces and by the so-called opposition, added to the initial brutality, decimating an entire nation, taking the country back to the Middle Ages, and leaving people homeless and country-less, and for that, all those guilty have to be brought to justice.

But justice is elusive as long as peace is nowhere in sight, and to arrive at peace, there is a need for the fighting parties to sit down and talk.

While Russia, Iran, Turkey and other foreign powers can have their contribution to peace talks, Arabs could help as well, and maybe more, but they will not as long as Syria is ostracised.

For the time being, it seems that Syria will be left in the care of external powers with vested interests.

The hope is that their efforts will bear fruit and, eventually, Syria will come back to the Arab fold, where it belongs.