Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on Arab League member states to join forces in order to find a solution to the crisis in Syria as soon as possible, the Kremlin website said on Thursday.
Ten Arab League leaders gathered on Thursday in Baghdad to discuss the recent developments in Syria, Sudan and the Palestinian Territories, security and antiterrorism issues, as well as economic situation in the region after the Arab Spring.
"We support developing collective approaches which would help to normalize the situation in this country [Syria]. We call on the summit participants to join forces in order to assist the soonest end to bloodshed in Syria,” Medvedev said in a letter to the Arab League summit participants.
“It is important to find a solution acceptable to everyone, to launch a dialog between the Syrian authorities and the opposition with unconditional compliance to international norms, without any external interference,” he added.
The Russian president praised the Leage for its search for diplomatic solutions to crisis situations in the region.
He also said that the recent events in the Middle East and North Africa “should not overshadow the task to solve the region’s most acute problem - reaching an all-encompassing and fair solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.”
“Russia firmly supports the soonest resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks on all final status issues on a solid international legal basis,” Medvedev said.
He also said that bilateral cooperation with Arab League states was among Russia's foreign policy priorities.
21 states and the Palestinian Liberation Organization are listed as Arab League members. The organization is headquartered in Cairo.
