The Arab League's Hesham Youssef tells Dina Ezzat that the Damascus Arab summit will not differ greatly from summits of the past In the Syrian capital Damascus, Arab foreign ministers are meeting today to prepare for the annual convocation of the Arab summit on Saturday and Sunday. In theory, the ministerial meeting should revise the agenda of the summit and draft resolutions to be adopted by top-level attendees. This year, however, things are looking different. The anticipated -- and in fact leaked -- news of the absence of several Arab leaders, including President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah, is likely to make today's ministerial meeting more tense than the average pre-summit session. With around 12 of the 22 member states of the Arab League expected to be represented at the foreign minister level, the summit itself -- notwithstanding formalities and tradition -- is likely to be much less ambitious than otherwise expected under the stewardship of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, who is all but standing isolated from other influential Arab leaders. The non-participation of Arab leaders is the culmination of a growing sense of frustration with Syria's leadership across Arab capitals in the last three years, mostly over its role in Lebanon -- qualified by many as preventing Lebanese political consensus -- in addition to its declared support for Islamic resistance groups in Palestine and Iraq, not to mention its all but declared alliance with Iran, the clear adversary of the main ally of the so-called "moderate" Arab countries and the United States. However, for Hesham Youssef, chief of cabinet of Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, the issue of the participation of Arab leaders "is certainly crucial, but should not be blown out of all reasonable proportion". In interview with Al-Ahram Weekly in Cairo before flying to the Syrian capital, Youssef added: "Obviously, it would have been ideal if most Arab leaders would have made it to the Arab summit. The situation in and around the Arab world calls for a serious and candid discussion among Arab leaders." Youssef accepts that Arab leaders decide their priorities in line with their regional and international foreign policy agendas. "The important thing is that all Arab leaders were keen that their countries be present at the summit. This is an important message that the leaders wish to maintain a certain level of Arab cohesion," he said. Egypt is to be represented by Minister of State for the People's Assembly Affairs Moufid Shehab. Like other Arab diplomats, including the Syrians, Youssef makes reference to previous Arab summits -- particularly the 2002 Beirut summit -- that convened with a limited presence of Arab leaders, but yet managed, "due to the full engagement of all Arab countries", to produce "key decisions", like the comprehensive adoption of the Arab Peace Initiative. "I am not at all saying that the participation of Arab leaders is a minor issue. I am just saying that it should not be perceived as the only criteria for the Arab summit to deliver," he added. Youssef declined to confirm or deny rumours suggesting that only nine Arab leaders would be present in Damascus Saturday morning. "Nothing is a done deal yet. The situation is still subject to consideration," he said. Meanwhile, the major obstacle to high-level Arab participation in the Damascus summit -- namely the four-month overdue election of a Lebanese president -- remains present. The election session of the Lebanese parliament that was due for Tuesday was postponed, Youssef noted. The chances are slim, he added, for the Damascus summit to achieve a breakthrough in this complicated issue that has so far proven resistant to all mediation, including the determined diplomatic efforts of Secretary-General Moussa. Beyond Lebanon, "there are huge issues for the Arab countries to discuss and many strategies, plans and decisions that the member states of the Arab League need to work on," according to Youssef. He admits that he is concerned about the slow -- even "at times terrifyingly slow" -- pace of progress in the Arab world with regard to addressing political, developmental, social and regional problems. The fate of the Arab Peace Initiative, that the latest Arab foreign ministers meeting all but threatened to take off the table if Israel does not come around to serious negotiations with the Palestinians, and the continued humanitarian, political and security disaster in Iraq are "but two of the pressing problems". The summit, Youssef reminds, is an opportunity to address these issues in their wider context; one that includes other Middle Eastern players, like Turkey and Iran, and the strategic interests of other international players, especially the US where a new administration will be in the White House before the next Arab summit convenes in March 2009. "This is precisely what the Arab summit is supposed to do: decide on major issues and address clear and specific messages to the international community about the collective Arab position and how it believes the conflicts of the region should be addressed," Youssef said. Is it not exaggerated to talk of "a collective Arab position"? Is there not a division among Arab countries into two camps on practically every critical issue? And is it not striking that at the official Arab League summit it is Arab leaders who supposedly embrace "moderation" that will be absent, leaving proceedings to the US-declared "extremist" camp? "Don't take it to the extreme," Youssef objects. "Yes, there are different views among Arab countries, about the issues of relations with the US and with Iran, but again all Arab countries would want positive relations with both," he stated. He added that some Arab capitals -- despite certain concerns over Iran's political and security plans for the region -- have taken it upon themselves to offer mediation between Washington and Tehran. On more concrete conflicts, "there is a collective Arab position that talks is the way forward to retrieve the Arab territories occupied by Israel, but there is no collective position yet as to how far pressure should be exerted on Israel and how," he said. The Arab League diplomat added that there are also collective Arab positions on the need for the Sudanese government to promptly reach an agreement with Darfur's rebels (there is even a strong will to support such an agreement), on addressing the state of chaos in Somalia, and on supporting reconciliation in Iraq and preserving Iraq's territorial unity. "You could argue that this is a rather inactive position, or that it is not being enthusiastically embraced by all, but it is there," Youssef said. And when it comes to Lebanon, the issue, according to Youssef, is not only the election of a president but also how to build confidence between the government and the opposition and to secure a formula for power sharing. "All Arab capitals, including Damascus, are supportive of the choice of Lebanese Army chief Michel Suleiman for president. The issue is the rest of the deal, in relation to the formation of government, including the share of the majority and opposition in cabinet seats and reform of the legislative elections law," he said. For Youssef, the Damascus summit has much to deliver. "There has to be at least a containment of current Arab differences. This level of tension is not acceptable when the Arab world is faced with so many political, security and indeed developmental challenges," he said. Also, the Damascus summit should mark the beginning of the return of Syria to the Arab fold. Speculation over the isolation of Syria, particularly tension between Syria and both Egypt and Saudi Arabia, has to be promptly addressed, he added. Within this context, Youssef refuses to see the non-participation of Arab leaders in the Damascus summit as a vote of no confidence in Syria. "Not at all," he says firmly. "If Arab countries wanted to send this message they would not be present in Damascus at all," he added. On the other hand, "It is also important that Syria acknowledges the concerns of certain Arab countries over the continuation of divisions in Lebanon, and their impact on regional stability. It is equally important for other Arab countries to accept that the influence of Syria, ultimately, has a ceiling and that Damascus is not the only player in Lebanon," Youssef said. Overall, Youssef refuses to be pessimistic about the Damascus summit. "It might not be the most dramatic Arab summit," but important decisions will still be made. Youssef is expecting resolutions that advance the cause of Arab economic cooperation ahead of a much-needed Arab Development Summit in Kuwait towards the end of this year, as well as calls for closer relations with various partners in the international community. On the political side, Youssef expects the summit to be "similar to previous Arab summits that have been convened for the past seven years," where resolutions are passed expressing support for the Palestinians, and lately calling for reconciliation among Palestinians, Iraqis, Sudanese, Somalis and the Lebanese. "The assessment of what Arab summit resolutions really bring is admittedly controversial," Youssef admits.
