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BEIRUT, Jan. 19-- Despite Syria' absence at the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit held in Beirut by the Arab League (AL), the debate over normalizing the pan-Arab body's ties with Syria cast a shadow over the gathering. Ahead of the Jan. 19-20 summit, Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil openly called on AL to re-admit Syria, whose membership was suspended in November 2011 due to the rising casualties in the violent clashes during anti-government protests in Syria. "Syria is the most notable absentee at our conference," Bassil said on Friday, adding that Arab states shouldn't wait for "a permission" for Syria's return. Bassil has reportedly been lobbying among member states to invite Syria to the summit, but the final decision was put off until the AL summit due to be held in Tunisia in March. In a sign of deep division among Arab countries over the Syria issue, seven Arab leaders who were originally expected to attend the meeting failed to show up. Some Lebanese political experts believe that U.S. pressures are likely behind the delay of Syria's re-admission to the AL. "The United States has lately put pressures on Arab countries to freeze their plans to re-open their embassies in Syria and to halt their talks about rebuilding the country," Rafic Nasrallah, director of the Lebanese International Center for Media and Research, told Xinhua. He added that the recent tour by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Middle East, which included Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar, was meant to rally anti-Iran allies and reject Syria's re-admission to the AL. | 
