Syria on Saturday joined Saudi Arabia in declaring support for an Egyptian successor to Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League, whose term ends on May 15. While consultations about possible candidates are still ongoing between Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces and the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Qatar has already nominated Dr. Abdel Rahman al-Attiya, former secretary general of Gulf Cooperation Council, for the post. Syria is the second Arab state to announce its support for an Egyptian candidate after the nomination of Dr. Abdel Rahman al-Attiya. “Damascus supports the Egyptian candidate, as Arab states always tend to support the nomination of an Egyptian for the post,” said Youssef Ahmed, the Syrian Ambassador in Cairo and Syria's permanent representative at the Arab League, in an exclusive statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm. Iraq announced that it is waiting to be informed of candidates' names before deciding on the matter. “We are waiting for formal notification of all candidates from various Arab countries before we announce our final decision,” said Ambassador Qais al-Azzawy, Iraq's permanent representative at the Arab League, to Al-Masry Al-Youm. A diplomatic source stressed that discussions between the Supreme Council of Armed Forces and Foreign Ministry are currently ongoing regarding potential candidates. Egypt is expected to announce the name of its official nominee within days. The same source pointed out that Dr. Mostafa al-Fiqqi is considered the likely choice.
