The United States and Britain have voiced dissatisfaction with the weekend decision by the Arab League to reinstate Syria as a member.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and US secretary of state Antony Blinken said they opposed the move, but they allowed it was up to the Arab League to determine its membership.
At the same time they said their countries would not normalise relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government unless it accepts and complies with a UN plan to restore peace to the country after a brutal 13-year civil war.
“We do not believe that Syria merits readmission to the Arab League,” Mr Blinken told reporters at a joint news conference with Mr Cleverly at the State Department.
“It’s a point we have made to all of our regional partners, but they have to make their own decisions,” Mr Blinken said. “Our position is clear: we are not going to be in the business of normalising relations with Assad and with that regime.”
Mr Cleverly said the British Government agreed with the US stance.
“This is an occasion where the US and the UK share very, very similar views,” he said. “The UK is very uncomfortable with the re-admission of Syria in the Arab League, but as Secretary Blinken said, ultimately it is a decision for the membership of the Arab League.
“The point that I have made is that there needs to be conditionality if they choose to take this course of action.
“It needs to be conditional on some fundamental changes from Damascus and the Assad regime.”
Mr Blinken and Mr Cleverly said any solution to the crisis in Syria must be based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which was adopted in 2015 and lays out steps, including a permanent ceasefire, humanitarian assistance and progress towards free and fair elections, measures the Arab League also backs.
“I think the Arab perspective as articulated through the Arab League is that they believe they can pursue these objectives through more direct engagement,” Mr Blinken said. “We may have a different perspective when it comes to that, but the objectives that we have I think are the same.”
Both men said it was critical for Syria to never again become a haven for the so-called Islamic State group, which occupied large portions of the country and neighbouring Iraq before being largely driven out.
Syria was reinstated in the 22-nation Arab League on Sunday after a 12-year suspension. It was a symbolic victory for Mr Assad, who can join the group’s May 19 summit, though western sanctions will continue to block reconstruction funds to the war-battered country.
