Nearly two weeks after the sudden downfall of the Al-Assad regime in Syria, the world is still closely watching developments. The meeting of key regional and world countries in Aqaba, Jordan on Saturday laid out what might be described as a roadmap to restore stability to a united Syrian state.

Official statements and expressions of goodwill may be nothing more than wishful thinking, however, if the parties that met in Jordan do not follow up on their pledges, actively providing the support Syria requires after devastating Civil War that lasted nearly 14 years on every front.

The Jordan talks started with a gathering of those Arab foreign ministers that make up the Syria Contact Group formed years ago by the Arab League. Considering the importance of Syria and its future for the entire region, the gathering was not limited to its original members – Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq – but also included Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The foreign ministers of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain which currently chairs the Arab League, also took part, reflecting the Arab world’s awareness that it must immediately provide post-Assad Syria with backing if the country is to make a comeback and meet the numerous needs of its people.

Later, the foreign ministers of the United States, France, the UK, Germany, the European Union, and Turkey, along with United Nations, took part in a second, wider meeting with their Arab counterparts, acknowledging the involvement of all these parties in Syrian affairs since the popular revolt against the Assad regime broke out in early 2011.

Turkey’s participation in particular was of extreme significance, due to its close ties to Syria and its role in supporting opposition to the Al-Assad regime over the past 14 years. It was also important to hear the Turkish foreign minister confirming that Ankara, which has a long border with Syria and is at war with Kurdish groups based in northern Syria, has no ambition or desire to control Syrian territories or determine the future of the country or its policies.

Questions about meeting the needs of the Syrian people are not limited to the ability of the armed groups now in control of Damascus to provide basic services, such as electricity, water, food and fuel, although those are extremely important. What is actually at stake is the existence of a united Syrian state in the first place, and ensuring that the country does not fall into chaos or experience the kind of territorial division and sectarian war that would make the Civil War of the past 14 years look mild.

The statement issued at the end of the Aqaba talks therefore called for supporting a peaceful, all-Syrian political transition sponsored by the United Nations and the Arab League, in which all Syrian political and social forces are represented.

While many continue to watch closely the performance of the armed groups that are now in control of key Syrian cities, considering their background and previous links to terrorist groups such as IS and Al-Qaeda, the Arab foreign ministers agreed that the priority should be respecting the will of the Syrian people and their choices.  

However, maintaining the unity and integrity of Syria requires the formation of an inclusive transitional governing body with Syrian consensus, and the implementation of the steps specified by UN Security Council Resolution 2254 to move from the transitional phase to a new political system that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people with all its components. This would also require holding free and fair elections supervised by the United Nations, based on a new constitution approved by the Syrians, and within specific time frames according to the mechanisms specified in the same resolution.

Judging by the experience of several Arab countries that experienced similar popular revolts in 2011, holding free and fair elections is no easy task after the toppling of a regime that practically never held true elections for over 50 years. Moreover, the grievances and desire for revenge among the various Syrian factions that have been fighting the regime over the past 14 years cannot guarantee that elections alone, or a well-written constitution, will be enough for the revival of the country.

It was in this context that the Arab foreign ministers called on the UN secretary general to provide his special representative to Syria with all necessary capacities for decision making and embark on establishing a UN mission to assist and sponsor Syria’s transitional process, as well as providing support to the Syrian people in achieving a political process led by Syrians alone in accordance with Resolution 2254.

The Arab ministers strongly condemned Israel’s incursion into Syria, practically occupying large swaths of Syrian territory immediately after the former Syrian president Bashar Assad fled to Russia. But the wider meeting that included the US and other European ministers did not adopt the same language.

Instead, the joint statement issued by the Arab Contact Group on Syria and the Western officials was limited to the use of diplomatic language that did not openly reject such Israeli aggression and exploitation of the current state of chaos. The ministers “affirmed their demand to all parties to cease hostilities in Syria” and demanded “respect of the sovereignty of Syria and its unity, and territorial integrity, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.”

That came as no surprise as US and European officials have already expressed “understanding” for the Israeli aggression, claiming Tel Aviv needed to bolster up its own security at a time of uncertainty. That is definitely the wrong approach considering that further Israeli occupation of Syrian territories can only open the door to more instability at a time when all efforts should focus on maintaining the unity of Syria and the ability of its people to pass the difficult transition at hand.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 19 December, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly