Speaking today at the high profile Baghdad Arab League summit, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned the league against following through with calls to arm the Syrian rebel factions in their ongoing civil war.
“Based on our experience in Iraq, the option to arm either side of the conflict will lead to a regional and international proxy war in Syria,” Maliki warned. He went on to say that it would lead to a “proxy war.”
“This option will prepare the ground for foreign military intervention in Syria and so infringe on the sovereignty of a brother Arab country,” Maliki added. The Arab League seems less supportive of intervening in recent weeks, and is now endorsing Kofi Annan’s plan for a negotiated settlement.
Syria’s Assad regime has also agreed to Annan’s plan, but has said that the program can only move forward if the rebels stop launching attacks and if the international community agrees to stop funneling support to the rebels. So far rebel factions have rejected the idea of peace talks.
