BEIRUT/DAMASCUS/AMMAN: Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government Sunday requested an emergency summit aimed at thwarting Saturday’s Arab League vote to impose an imminent suspension from participating in the organization’s meetings. Damascus’ suspension from the organization’s operations is scheduled to be enforced Wednesday when league ministers are due to meet in the Moroccan capital Rabat to discuss the crisis.
Syrian state television said the objective of its proposed summit would be to discuss the “negative repercussions on the Arab situation.”

Syria also invited Arab League officials to visit before Wednesday, and said they could bring any civilian or military observers they deem appropriate to oversee implementation of an Arab League plan for ending the bloodshed.
Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci appeared to give the summit some momentum Sunday when he said that the decision to suspend Syria from attending meetings was not final.

“The decision to suspend Syria from attending meetings is temporary and can be lifted as soon as possible. This can happen even before Wednesday since there is a meeting in Rabat on that day,” Medelci told reporters at a joint news conference with his Egyptian counterpart Mohammad Kamel Amr in Algiers. The Rabat meeting will take place on the sidelines of a Turkish-Arab world forum.

The League’s foreign ministers at a meeting in Cairo Saturday voted 18 out of 22 to suspend Syria from attending meetings with effect from Wednesday over its failure to comply with an agreement to end its crackdown on protests.

Syria, Yemen and Lebanon voted against the move while Iraq abstained.
The foreign ministers recommended the withdrawal of Arab envoys from Damascus and agreed on sanctions, while inviting “all currents in the opposition” to meet at its headquarters in Cairo to map out a possible transition.

It said the decision would remain in place until Assad implements the Nov. 2 accord which his government signed, in which Damascus was to release detainees, withdraw the army from urban areas, allow free movement for observers and media, and hold dialogue with the opposition at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was also scheduled to meet with members of a Syrian opposition group, The Syrian National Council, which is trying to form a united front against Assad.

The council, a broad-based opposition umbrella group, was formed in Istanbul in September.
However while opposition groups appeared buoyed by the new level of legitimacy, the League chief Nabil Elaraby said in Libya that it was too soon to consider recognizing Syria’s opposition as the country’s rightful authority, calling the move “premature.”

Elaraby said the pan-Arab group would be “studying mechanisms it could implement to protect civilians in Syria.”
The resolution won widespread praise from the international community, with the U.S. and the EU welcoming the decision and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon praising the “strong and courageous” call, while the Syrian National Council said the decision was a “step in the right direction.”
The League’s decision prompted an outpouring of indignation from authorities Saturday who accused the body of working for foreign interests.

Late Saturday, hundreds of angry demonstrators had attacked the embassies of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which were among the countries that voted to suspend Syria. The attacks sparked howls of international condemnation from leaders who claimed Syria had orchestrated the attacks.

“The Saudi government strongly condemns this incident and holds the Syrian authorities responsible for the security and protection of all Saudi interests in Syria,” SPA quoted the Saudi Foreign Ministry as saying Sunday.

Anatolia news agency said thousands of protesters had also attacked Turkey’s diplomatic missions in Syria, furious over Ankara’s support for the Arab League decision. Turkey Sunday ordered the evacuation of non-essential diplomatic personnel from Syria, Anatolia reported and summoned the Syrian charge d’affaires over the incident.
“The attitude of the Syrian government … demonstrates the need for the international community to respond with a united voice to the serious developments in Syria,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

France also condemned protesters’ attacks on diplomatic missions in Syria and summoned the Syrian ambassador.
“These attacks are an attempt to intimidate the international community after the Arab League’s courageous decision because of ongoing repression in Syria,” the French Foreign Ministry said.
Assad supporters surged in their tens of thousands into central Damascus Sunday to show their support for the president.

“The Syrian people are filling the squares of the nation and announce their rejection of the Arab League decision,” state television said, showing more protests in the commercial hub of Aleppo and other cities.
Meanwhile, both Iraq and Iran condemned the league’s decision.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement Sunday that the decision will only serve to complicate the situation in Syria because the league will lose all communication channels with Damascus.
Iran said Sunday the Arab League’s decision on Syria was “unhelpful” and played into the hands of foreign countries “at a time when President Assad’s reforms should be given a chance.”

“The statement of the Arab League about developments in Syria will not only not help solve the problem but will complicate the issue,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB.

“The issuance of the Arab League statement happened as foreign forces are trying to interfere in the internal affairs of Syria,” Mehmanparast said, calling for dialogue and actions “in line with maintaining peace and stability.”
Russia, which has consistently backed Syria and vetoed a security council resolution aimed at punishing Assad’s crackdown, said Sunday it will continue exporting arms to Syria since no international decision has been made outlawing it.

“Since there is no restriction on arms deliveries to Syria, Russia respects its contractual obligations with the country,” deputy director of the Russian Federal Military and Technical Cooperation Service (FSVTS) Viacheslav Dzirkaln said at the Dubai air show, as quoted by the news agency Interfax.

Meanwhile, violence continued Sunday as Syrian security forces reportedly shot dead eight people who shouted anti-Assad slogans at an organized pro-regime rally in the central city of Hama against the League decision.
“Security forces were leading public workers and students into Orontes Square when groups broke away and started shouting ‘the people want the fall of the regime.’ They escaped into the alleyways but were followed and four were killed,” said one of the activists in Hama.