FOREIGN Minister M. Kamel Amr's latest statements on Syria contained two principal ideas; namely, a call for further concerted efforts by the international community to provide additional support to Syrian opposition, and serving notice that that level of international condemnation of the on-going massacres in Syria is heightening up.Coming as they did in the wake of the 3rd ‘Friends of Syria' conference that convened in Paris the other day with as many as 106 countries and organisations joining in, Minister Amr's statements, particularly in their first component, point to the emergence of a clear and plausible sense of direction in Egyptian diplomacy on the Syrian crisis. In practical terms, the development of such a sense of direction is streamlining Egypt's diplomatic potential to contribute most actively to the global drive to bring about an end to bloodshed in Syria. Underlying this new trend are two considerations, one is historical and the other is related to professional performance. In an historical perspective, it is an established fact of modern Arab history that the peoples of Egypt and Syria have for long maintained a feeling of special affinity towards each other, given that the two countries entered into a full merger a little more than fifty years ago. Also historically, it was the first ever such solid step towards Arab unity, the popular and long-cherished hope and politically instinctive aspiration that have played an undeniable role in shaping the modern political history of the Arabs. Nearly two years after its banging birth, that merger came to an end and each country formally accepted the separation. Contrary to that official reaction, the popular feeling of affinity has neither waned nor fainted. As far the professional performance of Egyptian diplomacy is concerned, the energetic attitude with which Egypt has participated in all international gatherings and fora on the Syrian crisis implies practical keenness on pursuing each and every political or diplomatic channel that could lead to an end to bloodshed and sufferings in Syria. The value of such performance acquires additional weight in view of the fact that it has been taking shape while the state, government and people of Egypt are all over-engaged with the final steps to accomplish the transition to full democracy. A few days ago, to cite one proof, Cairo played host to a League of Arab States-sponsored conference for Syrian opposition groups. The conference convened at a time when the president of the new republic was less than a week in office, the writing of a new constitution was the peak of national concern and the spate of group protests was still demanding maximum state engagement. For all political, historical and geostrategic considerations, the emergence of dynamic Egyptian diplomacy on the Syrian question practically means the invoking of a credible asset to Arab, regional and international parties wishing to salvage Syria from the calamitous consequences of an already frightful and potentially protracted conflict.
