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| Qatar's Sheikh Hamad announcing the accord with Lavrov (Photo from Aljazeera) |
The Arab League announced in Cairo late Saturday it agreed with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the following five-point regulatory framework for solving the Syria crisis:
- Cessation of violence by all sides
- An impartial supervisory mechanism
- No meddling by foreign parties (in Syrian affairs)
- Unhindered access of humanitarian aid to all Syrians
- Strong support for Kofi Annan’s mission to launch a political dialogue between Damascus and the Syrian opposition groups in keeping with the provisions approved by the UN secretary-general and the Arab league
In light of the above framework agreed with Lavrov, the Arab League Council of Foreign Ministers approved a new resolution,
- Calling upon the Syrian government to cease all forms of violence and killings, protect civilians and acquiesce to peaceful demonstrations
- Calling upon the Syrian government to release all detainees forthwith and to withdraw the army back to barracks without delay
- Condemning the serious violations of the Syrian civilians’ human rights and deeming the Baba Amr massacre perpetrated by Syrian military and security forces a crime likely to fall under the category of Crimes against Humanity
- Demanding immediate and unfettered access for Arab and international medical relief and humanitarian aid organizations
- Upholding the Arab League roadmap for peace in Syria
- Reiterating the League’s previous call for unrestricted Arab and international media access to Syria
- Welcoming Kofi Annan’s troubleshooting mission
- Demanding full implementation by Syria of Arab League Resolutions 7444 and 7446 (enumerating the specific and sequential steps for solving the Syria crisis)
- Inviting all hues of the Syrian opposition to close ranks and perspectives in anticipation of the dialogue (with Damascus)
- Welcoming the decisions of last month’s Friends of Syria conference in Tunis, which meets again in Turkey later this month
- Urging the UN Security Council to pass a unanimous resolution based on the Arab League initiative for peace in Syria.
