Arabs' talk

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If there was only one thing that the Damascus summit should be firmly credited with it would be the composed tone Arab officials, leaders included, used in their exchange of views and differences. It is precisely this tone of speech that could mark the beginning of the long road to Arab reconciliation.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, current chair of the Arab summit, refrained from making harsh statements, direct or indirect, against Arab leaders who did not attend the Damascus congregation. Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi, known for his controversial and often provocative speeches, spoke his mind but declined to attack.

True, the talks did not yield concrete results in relation to any of the items on the summit agenda, from the management of the Arab-Israeli struggle to the filtering of Arab disagreements and grievances. However, contrary to the fuming statements of US Under-Secretary of State David Welch -- and to the dismay of Washington which attempted but failed to torpedo the summit -- the Damascus meeting did deliver.

It displayed the will of Arab countries to maintain the seven-year-old tradition of the annual convocation of a summit meeting despite the many mutual frustrations, especially those felt by Egypt and Saudi Arabia at Syrian influence in Lebanon.

The summit took place in face of much incitement by Washington, which would have loved to deny Syria its rightful rotated role as chair of the Arab summit. That in itself is no small achievement. It is a vote of confidence in the Arab cause -- even at its lowest ebb -- at a time of bitter Arab divisions over the political identity and choices facing the region.

The Damascus summit delivered a sober diplomatic atmosphere that could help in managing differences, if Arab countries choose to generate the necessary political will and if the secretariat of the Arab League invests the political energy necessary to build on the state of containment that was demonstrated in Damascus.

But this mood of inter-Arab accommodation is fragile. It can easily be broken if Arabs allow acrimony to overtake composure. It is the responsibility of leading Arab states, especially Egypt, to ensure that the tone of containment generated in the Arab summit evolves into a collective Arab commitment to minimise disagreements, particularly over crucial issues, including the management of the Arab-Israeli struggle, relations with Iran and alliances with the US.