FM: Iraq supports neighboring Syria’s return to Arab League

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Mohammed al-Hakim, on Wednesday affirmed his country was supporting Syria’s return to the Arab League.

“Iraq supports the unity of Syria and its return to its normal position in the Arab world and the region, and the restoration of its position in the Arab League,” read a Twitter post by Iraq’s Foreign Ministry, quoting al-Hakim.

The top Iraqi diplomat also reportedly added that Baghdad hopes border crossings between the two war-addled nations would re-open to develop bilateral trade.

The statement comes as Saudi Arabia, one of Syria’s main critics, recently said it would not mind the country’s return to the Arab League, despite years of civil war ravaging Syria.

The UAE also recently announced the official re-opening of its embassy in Damascus.

Syria has experienced years of destruction as its civil war raged on since the 2011 uprisings during the Arab Spring. Since then, the country’s membership in the Arab League has been suspended.

The Arab League currently has 22 member states. It was founded in March 1945 in Cairo with only six state members: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Jordan.

The League, over the past decades, has been repeatedly criticized for its ineffectiveness and failing to take decisive actions regarding Arab countries and issues plaguing the Middle East.

Editing by Nadia Riva