Arab League Official Denies Syria Turned Down Invitation To Attend Beirut Summit

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published January 18, 2019 | 12:36 AM

ST. PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) Arab League's Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told Sputnik on Thursday he could not confirm the statement made by the Syrian Ambassador in Lebanon that Damascus received an invitation to attend the economic summit of the Arab League in Beirut, but refused to participate.

The summit will be held in Beirut on Saturday and Sunday.

"No. I cannot confirm this statement. Nothing has changed since the last time we spoke on Saturday," he said.

On Saturday, Zaki told Sputnik that Syria had not been invited to take part in the summit in Beirut. He also said that Syria's invitation to the organization's summit in Tunisia in March would not be discussed during the economic summit in Beirut.

The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 after the war in the country broke out. Member states then recalled their ambassadors from the country. However, the Arab countries are now making steps to re-establish diplomatic ties with Damascus.