Arab support for a peaceful transitional process, Demands for Israel's withdrawal from buffer zone

The Arab Ministerial Contact Committee on Syria affirmed, on Saturday, its support for a comprehensive Syrian-Syrian political transitional process, in which all Syrian political and social forces are represented, sponsored by the United Nations and the Arab League.

It also condemned the incursion of "Israel" into the buffer zone with Syria, and demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the areas it occupied, also calling on the Security Council to take the necessary measures to stop these violations.

This came in a final statement following the committee's meeting in the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba, which includes Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and the Secretary-General of the Arab League, in the presence of the foreign ministers of the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.

The statement said that the attendees discussed the developments witnessed by Syria over the past weeks and affirmed "standing by the brotherly Syrian people, providing all aid and support to them at this critical stage, and respecting their will and choices."

They announced their support for "a comprehensive Syrian-Syrian political transitional process, in which all Syrian political and social forces are represented, including women, youth and civil society, with justice, and sponsored by the United Nations and the Arab League."

This process will be "in accordance with the principles, objectives and mechanisms of Security Council Resolution 2254, including the formation of a comprehensive transitional governing body with Syrian consensus, and the beginning of implementing the steps specified in the resolution to move from the transitional phase to a new political system that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people with all its components." He explained that this will be "through free and fair elections supervised by the United Nations, based on a new constitution approved by the Syrians, and within specific timeframes in accordance with the mechanisms adopted by the resolution," according to the text of the statement.