Arab League Likely to Appoint Special Envoy to Syria

The Arab League is likely to appoint a special envoy to Syria at a meeting this weekend, a Western diplomat in London said on Friday.

Also on Friday, the opposition Syrian National Council, an umbrella body grouping parties in revolt against Bashar al-Assad's regime, said it expects to be recognized within days by several Arab states.

Currently meeting in Qatar under its Paris-based leader Burhan Ghalioun, the SNC is hopeful that it will win a diplomatic breakthrough on Sunday at meetings of the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council in Cairo.

"There should be an official recognition of the SNC by several Gulf countries," said Imad Hussari, a spokesman for the group and leader of the "Local Coordination Committees" which mobilizes protests inside Syria.

Another SNC figure, Istanbul-based Khaled Khoja, confirmed he expects recognition "by several Arab states in the coming days."

Currently, only Libya's post-revolutionary interim government recognizes the SNC as its sole legitimate Syrian interlocutor, but the Gulf states decided on Monday to expel Syrian ambassadors from their capitals.

The SNC groups parties from different backgrounds, including Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood and liberal nationalists. Officials said it will meet in Cairo or Istanbul on February 15 to choose a new chairman.