Arab FMs Call for Political Solution in Syria, Slam Hizbullah Involvement in the War

Arab foreign ministers gave their support on Wednesday to Russian and U.S. plans for a Syria peace conference even as organizers said it would now not be held before next month.

The ministers, who met at Arab League headquarters in Cairo, called on the warring parties in Syria to negotiate an end to the 26-month civil war, saying a political solution was the only option.

They called for "efforts to persuade all the warring parties to allow logic and dialogue and negotiations to prevail in order to find a political solution between Syrians, as the only means."

Russian, U.N. and U.S. envoys failed on Wednesday to set a date for the planned conference amid persistent disagreement over who should take part.

"It will not be possible to hold this conference in June," U.N. peace envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters in Geneva, adding that the talks could happen "hopefully in July."

Damascus has agreed in principle to take part in the conference, but Syria's main opposition National Coalition has refused to attend as long as Iran-backed Hizbullah fighters are battling alongside Assad's forces.

The Arab League also condemned Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war.

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi announced after the extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers that the resolution issued after the talks condemns “any intervention in Syria, especially by Hizbullah.”

"There were several points of views regarding Hizbullah and we decided to condemn any foreign interference in the Syrian conflict, especially Hizbullah's involvement,” al-Arabi told reporters.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr revealed that no party had reservations on the decision concerning Syria “except for Lebanon that distanced itself from this matter.”