Arabs cannot afford to stay fragmented

The current tour in the region of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, which started yesterday in the UAE, is significant. According to Syrian sources, the visit is aimed at boosting inter-Arab relations, which suffered many blows in the past two years due to sharp differences over Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon.

The most serious of those issues is Lebanon which pitted Arab heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Egypt against the other Arab heavyweight Syria. Riyadh and Cairo had accused Damascus, the former powerbroker in Lebanon, of attempting to destabilise its smaller neighbour and derail the election of a new president.

The crisis in Lebanon seems to be steadily cooling down. A new president, General Michel Sulaiman, was elected last Sunday and talks are underway to form a new unity government. But keeping the peace in Lebanon, which miraculously escaped another civil war two weeks ago, needs a sustained agreement between the three countries.

Bashar, whose tour is aimed at clearing the air and tackle the reasons of tensions between Arab states, has said he planned to visit Saudi Arabia. This would be a major step to break the deadlock and regain the traditional warmth in the two countries' relations.

The Arab world is at a critical junction with peace talks being conducted on both the Syrian and Palestinian tracks. The division among the Palestinians is increasing the isolation of the Gaza Strip. The situation in Iraq is no better.

A proposal to sign a long term security deal with the occupying power, the United States, is threatening to unleash another wave of violence and the reconciliation efforts have reached a dead end. Sudan is also at risk of having yet another civil war, this time in the south.

Therefore, the Arabs cannot afford to stay fragmented. They have to come up with a unified position to address these issues. And those who can help bridge the gap between Arab states must do it and do it now.