Arab ministers to discuss normalising ties with Syrian regime

A group of Arab foreign ministers held a meeting with their Syrian counterpart in Jordan on Monday to discuss how to normalise ties with the Syrian regime, officials said.

The talks are the first between the Syrian regime and a group of Arab countries since a decision to suspend Syria's membership of the Arab League in 2011 after a crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

Jordan has called on Syria to engage with Arab states jointly on a step-by-step roadmap to end the conflict, tackling the issues of refugees, detainees, drug smuggling and Iran-backed militias in Syria - all of which affect its neighbours.

Before the ministers of Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan sat down to talks in Amman, Syrian foreign minister Faisal Mekdad met bilaterally with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.

They discussed refugees, water issues and border security, including the fight against drug smuggling, the ministry said.

Arab states and those most impacted by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalising ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.

Regional superpower Saudi Arabia long resisted normalising relations with Assad but said after its rapprochement with Iran - Syria's key regional ally - a new approach was needed with Damascus, which is under Western sanctions.

At the Jeddah meeting there was resistance to the move to invite Assad to the Arab League summit, with Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait saying it was premature before Damascus agrees to negotiate a peace plan.

Safadi on Sunday met with visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, officials said.

Washington, which said it would not change its policy towards the Syrian regime - which it terms a "rogue" state - has urged Arab states to get something in return for engaging with Assad. 

Reporting by Reuters