Syria will not attend next Arab summit 'to avoid causing dispute': Algeria FM

Syria will not attend the Arab summit scheduled in Algeria next November to avoid "causing dispute," announced Algeria's foreign ministry on Sunday.

After months of teasing Syria's attendance at the Arab Summit, Faysal Miqdad, Syrian Foreign Minister, told his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra during a phone call that Damascus "prefers not to raise the issue of resuming its seat in the League of Arab States during the Algeria Summit to unite the Arab ranks facing the challenges posed by the current situation," said Algeria's foreign minister's press statement.

Nothing has changed vis-a-vis the reasons for the original suspension of Syria's membership in the league in 2011, prompted by the Syrian regime's violent suppression of protests against its authoritarian rule.

However, the eagerness of some Arab states, including Algeria, to normalise relations with Bashar Al Assad's regime and bring Syria back into the Arab fold has suggested a possible Syrian comeback to the Arab league.

Algeria, competing for a leading regional role, will host the two-day summit starting on 1 November.

The Algerian foreign minister stressed the Arab summit "will be held on its specified date" and that "preparations are underway, and Algeria is ready to receive the participating delegations."

Given the heated political climate in the region, many are betting on Algeria's failure to gather the disputed Arab leaders in one room.

However, an official Algerian source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the Arabic sister publication to The New Arab, "Algeria has received several confirmations from Arab presidents and kings to personally attend the summit."

The least likely to attend is Algeria's closest neighbour, Morocco. Algiers halted diplomatic ties with Rabat last year, citing a string of "hostile actions", including espionage. Morocco rejected the various accusations.

Algeria has rejected so far all Morocco's initiatives to repair ties. Rabat did not confirm its participation at the summit yet.

Algeria also seeks to "place the Palestinian cause at the centre of the Arab summit's priorities" - a move that may make uncomfortable the normalisers in the room.