Arab foreign ministers will meet in Cairo next week to discuss Syria after a visit by the Arab League chief to Damascus to convey concerns over its crackdown on popular unrest was delayed, Arab diplomats said on Wednesday. Arab governments broke months of silence at a meeting at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo last week, demanding Syria stop the bloodshed, and decided to send League chief Nabil Elaraby to Damascus to push for political and economic reforms. One Arab diplomat had said Wednesday's visit was postponed, not canceled, and would take place "when conditions permit." Egypt's state news agency said the delay followed a request from Syria, but said Damascus did not give an explanation. "The situation in Syria will top the discussions in the coming ministerial meeting after the delay to the visit of the Arab League Secretary-General to Syria," said a senior Arab diplomat at the League, who asked not to be named. A League official confirmed the meeting was on 13 September. The senior diplomat said there was no plan to suspend Syria's membership in the Arab League, as happened to Libya in February after forces loyal to the now deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi attacked protesters. "No one is thinking till now about freezing Syrian membership in the Arab League because every Arab state is keen on stability in Syria. All that Arab foreign ministers asked in the last meeting was to speed up the pace of reforms and stop the violence," he said. Another diplomat at the League said the meeting would discuss Syria, Palestinian issues and Somalia. The senior Arab diplomat said the situation between Sudan and the newly independent south and Libya would also be on the agenda.
