Arab League to discuss Syrian protocol

Arab foreign ministers are to convene, next Saturday, to discuss Syria’s conditional agreement to the Arab League's peace plan aiming to put an end to the bloody suppression of protests since the outbreak of the Syrian uprising seven months ago. Middle East News Agency (MENA) confirmed the news from a diplomatic source, following the announcement made by Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil Al-Arabi. Al-Arabi had earlier stated that Arab foreign ministers are to meet by the end of this week, without specifying a date. Syria faces severe economic sanctions imposed by the League and the West, in response to its violent campaign on pro-democracy protests against embattled Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad. The League has repeatedly extended the deadline for Syria to agree to the plan, which requires that Arab observers supervise the withdrawal of Syrian forces from cities with ongoing protests. MENA stated that a small group of ministers will first meet next Saturday, followed by a meeting which expands to include more foreign ministers on the same day, chaired by Qatar which currently heads the League.