Egypt will not withdraw its ambassador to Syria despite an Arab League resolution urging Arab countries to recall their ambassadors from Damascus, said Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr. At an emergency meeting on Saturday, Arab foreign ministers decided to suspend the participation of Syrian delegations in Arab League meetings and in the activities of its affiliated organizations. At a press conference in Damascus on Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said a certain Arab country had pressed for passing the resolution, adding that some Arab countries will not, however, withdraw their ambassadors. In statements cited by MENA, Amr said the presence of an Egyptian ambassador in Syria will allow for the exchange of viewpoints and communication between the two countries in order to find a way out of the crisis and prevent foreign intervention. The role played by Egypt in this crisis is pivotal, particularly in light of the current conditions in several Arab countries and external threats, Amr added. He also said the proposal discussed by Arab foreign ministers on Saturday to solve the Syrian crisis contained statements that could have opened the door for intervention by the UN Security Council or foreign countries. Egypt and Algeria managed to have those statements removed and introduced core amendments to the proposal. The proposal was endorsed by 18 Arab countries. Lebanon, Yemen and Syria rejected the proposal and Iraq abstained from voting. The document gave Syria a grace period that ends on 16 November to resolve the crisis, which is the same deadline set in an earlier initiative proposed by the Arab League and accepted by Syria two weeks ago. Amr said he hopes a positive development will be achieved before the meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday, and added that the crisis should be solved through Arab-Syrian dialogue to prevent foreign intervention. According to the UN, around 3000 Syrians have been killed by the Syrian regime since the uprising began in March.
