by aawsat.com — Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri proposed on Wednesday the postponement of the upcoming Arab League economic summit in Beirut later this month because of Lebanon’s ongoing failure to form a new government. Berri also asserted “again the necessity of having Syria participate in such a summit”, lawmakers from his parliamentary bloc quoted him as saying at a meeting. The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership seven years ago after the government crackdown on mass protests against regime leader Bashar Assad. Some Arab states, including ones that had backed opposition factions, are now seeking to reconcile with Assad’s state, which has recovered most of the country with Russian and Iranian help, reported Reuters. Last month, the United Arab Emirates re-opened its embassy in Damascus and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir became the first Arab head of state to visit since the conflict began. For Syria to be reinstated, the League must reach a consensus. Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said on Tuesday Damascus must take several steps before it can return to the League, including making political progress in defunct UN peace talks. “When this happens, we can talk about the matter. At this time, there is nothing new qualifying it,” he said.

Assad’s Lebanese allies, including Berri and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighting alongside the Syrian regime, have ramped up calls for Syria to join the summit. The issue remains very divisive in Lebanon with many blocs opposing the normalization of ties with Damascus. The Lebanese presidency seemed to be pressing ahead with plans to host the summit in Beirut, inviting journalists on Wednesday to apply for accreditation in time. The lack of a government has caused particular concern because Lebanon faces both structural economic problems and regional instability. The International Monetary Fund has stressed the importance of Lebanon putting its debt on a sustainable footing, while bond yields and the cost of insuring against Lebanese sovereign debt have shown signs of stress in recent months.