Arab foreign ministers will decide if the Syrian issue should be internationalized, Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Araby said Tuesday.
The Arab League is prepared to provide protection for Syrian civilians, but “protecting Syrians is not possible without the regime's cooperation,” he said.
Arab foreign ministers plan to meet to discuss Syria's response to the Arab League's request to send monitors to Syria.
In an interview with Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai, Araby said that the Arab League had drafted a proposal for Syria to sign outlining the Arab League’s plan to protect Syrian civilians and monitor the situation in the country. Syrian representatives have twice promised to sign the proposal, but have not followed through, instead setting new conditions that must be met before signing.
"The Syrian response should be reviewed by the Arab ministerial council," Araby added. He also referenced his meetings with representatives of the Syrian opposition movement in Cairo. "I met with more than 100 supporters of the opposition, among them members of the Syrian National Council and tribesmen. We discussed several issues."
"At some point, the Syrian government will be summoned for dialogue," Araby said.
Araby ruled out the possibility of using force to resolve the crisis in Syria, saying that what took place in Libya will not be repeated. He didn't rule out a scenario similar to the Yemeni one, in which other Arab governments try to broker a deal between Syria’s ruling party and the opposition calling for its ouster.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
