"Qatar's position is clear. There were reasons for suspending Syria's membership in the Arab League ... For us, these reasons still exist," the prime minister said in an interview with Qatar's broadcaster, adding that media reports about Syria's return to the LAS were "speculation."
The prime minister noted that the Syrian crisis should be resolved politically.
The Al-Hadath broadcaster reported on Tuesday that the Gulf Cooperation Council of six Gulf Arab nations will meet on Friday to discuss Syria’s return to the LAS. Foreign ministers of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the UAE city of Jeddah to discuss Syria with Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan.
A spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry confirmed to reporters in Doha that top Qatari diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani would be present for the Arab Gulf meeting on Syria but said that Qatar’s position on its readmission remained unchanged.
On Wednesday, Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahhaf told Sputnik that Iraq has always supported Syria’s return to the LAS and maintains this position to date.
The 22-nation League is split on whether to let Syria in after its membership was suspended over the 2011 unrest. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been reportedly trying to convince Qatar and Kuwait that Syria should be readmitted in time for the May summit.
Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, with Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops fighting against various armed groups, including terrorists. The same year, the West and the LAS imposed unilateral sanctions against Assad's government over alleged human rights violations and persecution of the country's opposition.