Arab League to hold Syria meeting

An Arab League committee on Syria will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday ahead of an international peace conference on ending the country's civil war, the bloc's deputy leader said on Sunday. The foreign ministers of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and Sudan would discuss a US-Russian push for a conference aimed at finding a political solution to the Syria conflict, Ahmed Ben-Hilli told reporters. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would also join the meeting "to follow up on developments in Syria in light of the US-Russian understanding," he said. The conference is meant to include both rebels and members of the regime -- a difficulty considering some opposition members' refusal to recognise President Bashar al-Assad as a negotiating partner. Moscow is also calling for the inclusion on this occasion of its trading partner Iran and US ally Saudi Arabia as a counterweight.