Syria has been devastated by more than a decade of war, resulting in destruction and poverty, aggravated by international sanctions. But the earthquake has put the country at the center of concerns, especially among its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, accused of having helped foment the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad by supplying weapons to the Syrian rebels.
While no one expected it, due to the humanitarian crisis, the Arab League, which consists of 22 countries, put an end to Syria’s regional isolation: Assad was welcomed at the League meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last month, where he was able to speak again to the members of the organization that expelled him 12 years ago.
After the earthquake, reactions were immediate from the Arab leaders: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi called Assad the next day. A week later, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi flew to Damascus, establishing the first direct diplomatic contact at this level since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011.
At the end of March, in Amman, Jordan, a meeting of interested national and international entities discussed policy options. But the members of the Arab League insisted that the orientations and decisions concerning Syria be taken at the regional level. The “Jordanian Initiative” was proposed to reintegrate Syria into regional political structures.
In exchange for normalization and humanitarian assistance, the Assad government agrees to accelerate the reintegration of refugees (663,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, 865,000 in Lebanon and no less than 3.6 million in Turkey), to control the smuggling of drugs and weapons and to initiate security reforms to dismantle the irregular militias.
On 7 May, an assembly of foreign ministers of the Arab League voted to formally invite the Assad government back to the Arab League, of which it is one of the 6 founding countries.
The position of the Church
The Vatican is not indifferent to this surprising and positive development, and urges the West to take a step forward and put an end to the sanctions that paralyze the Syrian economy. For years, the Church has been calling for an end to Syria’s isolation and act accordingly.
Last year, Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, described the conflict as “the most serious human-caused humanitarian disaster since the end of the Second World War,” deploring the international community’s lack of attention to peace and economic reconstruction in the country.
During the eight months following his election, Francis met with the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches, who, by their perception of the reality and the situation in Syria, have not aligned themselves with Western strategies that continue a “regime change” policy.
The Arab League is a poorly structured political alliance. It does not have the power to respond quickly to Syria’s many emergencies: a population plagued by massive food and healthcare insecurity, 90% of whom live in poverty.
Representatives of the Holy See, heads of local Christian communities (Melkite Greek-Catholic Patriarch Youssef I) and UN officials deplored the sanctions against Syria because they punish impoverished populations and complicate relief efforts.
According to many experts, Syria is condemned to widespread suffering, affecting almost all Syrians, as long as the West maintains its sanctions against the country. Sanctions also apply to economic reconstruction.
The Council of Churches for the Middle East, which includes the principal Catholic communities in the Middle East, has issued a strong warning: “We urge the immediate lifting of sanctions against Syria and access to all necessary goods, so that sanctions do not become a crime against humanity.”
The February 6, 2023 earthquake that devastated eastern Turkey also struck northern Syria, killing more than 7,200 people in the country, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. More than 5 million Syrians were affected by the earthquake. But the tragedy had positive geopolitical repercussions.