AlHijjah 6, 1432, Nov 2, 2011, SPA -- The Foreign-Minister-level Arab League Extraordinary meeting expressed welcome of Syria's nod to carry out an Arab-League-sponsored working plan to defuse the Syrian crisis, urging Damascus to promptly and strictly abide by the plan. In a statement following the meeting, the Ministerial Council said the plan called for immediate stoppage of violence from all sources, release of detainees who were taken in custody in relation to the current incidents, withdrawal of all kinds of military aspects from cities and residential neighborhoods, and allowing Arab League agencies and Arab and international media to move freely in all parts of Syria for fact-finding and monitoring of what is going on. According to the plan, the Arab Ministerial Committee will undertake contacts between the Syrian government and different parties of the opposition to guarantee the implementation process on one hand and hold a national dialogue conference within two weeks, on the other. The statement noted that the Arab Ministerial Committee, which visited the troubled country and held a follow-up meeting in Doha recently, will stay in session to follow-up the progress of the working plan process. A special budget worth one million U.S. dollar was allotted for the Arab League Secretariat General to cover its Syria-related activities, the statement said, adding that the Ministerial Council remains on stand-by to follow-up the situation and its developments. Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr Al Thani chaired the meeting. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, headed his country's delegation to the meeting.
