THE ROLE OF EGYPT IN THE CONTEXT OF SYRIA’S RETURN TO THE “ARAB FAMILY” (2013-2023)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46991/jos.2024.26.2.056Keywords:
Egypt, Syrian Crisis, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, League of Arab States, “Arab Family”, Egyptian-Syrian RelationsAbstract
In 2023, Syria restored its membership in the League of Arab States and returned to the Arab fold. The internal political crisis that started in 2011 and then the long-lasting conflict completely undermined Syria's place and status in the Arab World. Moreover, several Arab countries took an openly hostile stance towards Syria, supporting various extremist groups fighting against Syrian government forces. It was possible to break through the barrier of negation formed around Syria in inter-Arab relations in Egypt because of the position of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who came to power in 2013. The Egyptian president began to support not only Syrian President Bashar Al Assad on several issues but also launched active mediation in the Arab World for the restoration of official Damascus's political rehabilitation. As a positive effect of the efforts of the Egyptian president in mediating with the leaders of a number of Arab countries, in 2023, Syria was able to regain its membership in the League of Arab States. This is a big advance for the official Damascus, which aims to create a qualitatively new environment of political relations in inter-Arab relations with the full involvement of Syria.
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