KUWAIT CITY
Syria's ongoing civil war is the "worst atrocity of the 21st century," Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi said at the opening session of the 25th Arab Summit in Kuwait.
"The ramifications [of the Syrian crisis] have been disastrous given the continued failure of the [U.N.] Security Council to produce a resolution calling for a ceasefire," al-Arabi declared at the summit's opening session.
"Terrorism continues to threaten the entire region," al-Arabi said.
"We must reach a political solution that lives up to the aspirations of the Syrian people," he added. "This crisis doesn't only threaten Syria but the rest of the world."
Al-Arabi accused the Syrian regime of hindering the internationally-backed Geneva II peace talks earlier this year by "refusing to engage in serious negotiations."
The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in late 2011 following the outbreak of civil war sparked by a wide-scale crackdown on anti-government demonstrations by the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Al-Arabi's statements come following the international community's failure to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, which entered its fourth year this month.
The Geneva talks had aimed at establishing a transitional government to end the ongoing bloodshed, which has left at least tens of thousands dead and millions displaced, according to the latest U.N. estimates.
Al-Arabi went on to admit that U.S. efforts in ongoing Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations had failed to yield tangible results, accusing Israel of "hindering" the talks.
This year's Arab summit comes amid an ongoing diplomatic row – between Qatar on one hand and Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on the other – over Doha's opposition to last summer's ouster of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and its perceived support for Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.
Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia have designated the Brotherhood a "terrorist" group.
"Rifts [between Arab states] have debilitated the Arab League's ability to take action," Al-Arabi told summit attendees.
He also pointed out that regional developments that resulted from the 2011 "Arab Spring" had posed new challenges that had rendered the Arab League's founding charter and current mandate "inadequate."
Al-Arabi saluted Egypt's interim president and Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad, both of whom are attending the summit for the first time.
Fourteen Arab heads of state are participating in this year's summit, seen as the pinnacle of diplomatic, economic and social cooperation among Arab countries.
By Hamza Takeen
englishnews@aa.com.tr
