Syria to host next Arab summit, says Assad
Riyadh,
Mar
30:
Syria
is
to
host
next
year's
Arab
summit,
President
Bashar
al-Assad
said
at
the
closing
ceremony
of
a
summit
of
Arab
leaders
in
the
Saudi
capital.
''I
thank
you
for
approving
the
holding
of
the
next
summit
in
Syria,''
Assad
said
in
a
brief
speech
at
the
end
of
the
two-day
meeting
where
Saudi
Arabia
sought
to
rally
Arab
countries
around
a
land-for-peace
proposal
to
Israel.
The
summit
meetings
of
heads
of
state
of
the
22-nation
Arab
League
are
held
on
a
rotating
basis
in
different
countries.
A
Western
diplomat
in
Riyadh
said
Damascus'
hosting
the
summit
was
a
coup
for
Syria,
which
the
United
States
has
tried
to
ostracise
in
the
region
because
of
its
alliance
with
Iran
and
Iranian-backed
Lebanese
group
Hezbollah.
Syria's
ties
with
Western
countries
and
several
Arab
states
were
strained
after
the
2005
assassination
of
a
Lebanese
former
prime
minister,
which
many
Lebanese
politicians
blame
on
Syria.
Damascus
denies
any
role
in
the
killing
of
its
former
ally.
Syria's
ties
with
the
United
States
were
badly
hit
by
Assad's
opposition
to
the
US-led
invasion
of
neighbouring
Iraq
in
2003.
Syrian
officials
have
been
keen
to
argue
that
the
Riyadh
summit
saw
a
thawing
in
relations
with
Saudi
Arabia
which
Assad
said
last
week
had
witnessed
a
''cloudy
patch''.
Assad
has
had
several
meetings
with
Saudi
officials
this
week,
including
a
two-hour
session
with
King
Abdullah
on
Tuesday
night.
Reporters
saw
Assad
laughing
and
joking
with
Arab
leaders
at
a
reception
and
dinner.
''If
Assad
comes
and
behaves
in
a
passive
and
deferential
way
with
the
king,
that's
the
determining
factor
for
bringing
them
back
into
the
fold
and
that's
what
we've
seen
over
the
last
three
days,''
the
Western
diplomat
said.
''The
US
often
assumes
they
can
ostracise
parties
that
disagree
with
them
and
then
move
their
'progressive'
friends
against
them.
But
it
doesn't
work
in
the
Arab
context.''
Reuters