Egyptian lawmaker calls for closer Syria ties
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s visit to the UAE prompted some Egyptian parliamentarians to press Cairo to follow suit.
Amid an apparent Arab rapprochement with the Syrian government, some Egyptian parliamentarians have called for an exchange of visits between Egyptian and Syrian officials.
Speaking at a parliament session on March 20, lawmaker and journalist Mustafa Bakri said that Egypt should exchange official visits with the Syrian government, saying that Assad's visit marks an opportunity and sets the stage for all Arab regimes to open up to Damascus.
Bakri suggested that Assad could visit Cairo soon or that Egypt could receive Syrian officials and vice versa.
Speaking on his TV show “Hakaek wa Asrar” March 25, Bakri said, “The four-way summit that was held in the Jordanian city of Aqaba today [March 25] with the participation of the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the UAE discussed the need to reach consensus on Syria’s return to the Arab League and its participation in the next summit.”
