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Saturday 10 March 2012

Arabs, Russia shake hands on Syria framework


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,
  1. Calling upon the Syrian government to cease all forms of violence and killings, protect civilians and acquiesce to peaceful demonstrations
  2. Calling upon the Syrian government to release all detainees forthwith and to withdraw the army back to barracks without delay
  3. 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
  4. Demanding immediate and unfettered access for Arab and international medical relief and humanitarian aid organizations
  5. Upholding the Arab League roadmap for peace in Syria
  6. Reiterating the League’s previous call for unrestricted Arab and international media access to Syria
  7. Welcoming Kofi Annan’s troubleshooting mission
  8. Demanding full implementation by Syria of Arab League Resolutions 7444 and 7446 (enumerating the specific and sequential steps for solving the Syria crisis)
  9. Inviting all hues of the Syrian opposition to close ranks and perspectives in anticipation of the dialogue (with Damascus)
  10. Welcoming the decisions of last month’s Friends of Syria conference in Tunis, which meets again in Turkey later this month
  11. Urging the UN Security Council to pass a unanimous resolution based on the Arab League initiative for peace in Syria.