A spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry said that his country’s government will not be an “obstacle” to the step taken by the Arab League, but any normalization of relations between Doha and Damascus “is primarily linked to progress in a political solution that achieves the aspirations of the Syrian people.”
Qatar, an outspoken opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, announced Sunday that it will not normalize relations with the Damascus government, despite the decision to resume the participation of its delegations in the meetings of the Arab League.
The Gulf emirate has always confirmed its refusal to normalize relations with Syria, but the foreign ministers of the Arab League countries decided in Cairo earlier this Sunday to resume the participation of the Syrian government. The league’s decision ended more than a decade of suspending Syria’s membership.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid bin Muhammad al-Ansari said that his country’s position on “normalization with the Syrian regime has not changed.” He added, in a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), that his government would not be an “obstacle” to the step taken by the Arab League, but that any normalization of relations between Doha and Damascus “is primarily linked to progress in a political solution that achieves the aspirations of the Syrian people.”
Al-Ansari added that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad must “address the roots of the crisis that led to his boycott, and work to take positive steps towards addressing the issues of the Syrian people.”
Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011, after Assad ordered a brutal crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising that turned into an armed conflict that has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.
Although calm has prevailed on most of the fighting fronts in Syria, large parts of the north of the country remain outside the control of the government, and a political solution to the 12-year-old conflict has yet to be reached.
Qatar provided great support to Syrian opposition groups that took over the management of the Syrian embassy in Doha.
