Egyptian FM, UN envoy discuss Syrian crisis

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen discussed on Sunday the latest developments in Syria.

During a phone conversation, Shoukry and Pedersen discussed the outputs of the first meeting of the Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee on Syria, which was held in Cairo on Aug. 15, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The committee, which was formed by the Arab League (AL), comprises the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon and the AL chief.

The Egyptian minister stressed the committee's keenness to reach a settlement to the Syrian crisis and preserve the unity and stability of Syria.

Shoukry and Pedersen agreed to arrange a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly in September, the statement said.

For his part, Pedersen expressed appreciation for Egypt's efforts to settle the crisis in Syria, praising the outputs of the committee's meeting.

He affirmed his intention to coordinate with the various parties concerned in order to build on what was reached in the meeting.

After nearly 12 years of suspension, Syria restored its membership in the Cairo-based AL in May.

Syria's AL membership was suspended in late 2011 when the Syrian conflict broke out, which led a number of Arab states to recall their ambassadors from Damascus, a move that was slammed by the Syrian leadership.