A picture taken on April 12, 2018, shows a general view of the hall housing the preparatory meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers ahead of the Summit of the Arab League. GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP

Dhahran - Riyadh - Mirza al-Khuwaildi and Sawsan Abu Husain

The 29th Arab League summit will kick off in the Saudi city of Dhahran on Sunday amid several challenges facing the Arab world, mainly in Syria, Yemen and Palestine, in addition to Iranian and Turkish interference.

Asharq Al-Awsat received Friday a copy of the draft closing statement and draft resolutions agreed on by Arab foreign ministers following their preparatory meetings held last Thursday in Saudi Arabia ahead of the summit.

The interference of several countries, namely Iran and Turkey, in the internal affairs of some Arab countries is among those items.

Another item calls on the Arab League to reject the Turkish military operations in Syria’s Afrin and to condemn escalation in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta.

It also asserts respect to safeguarding the sovereignty and unity of Syrian territories.

The Arab foreign ministers confirmed their continuous support to the legitimacy of the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi against the Iran-supported Houthi militias, with an aim to end the conflict in Yemen and reject any interference in the internal affairs of the country.

The ministers also stressed the importance of building relations with Iran based on the principle of good neighborliness and the rejection of force or threat, condemning Iranian meddling in the internal affairs of Arab states.

The closing statement of the summit is expected to reflect Arab support for Palestinians.

The foreign ministers reiterated that the Palestinian cause remains a central issue for the Arab nation, rejecting the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

They also condemned Turkey’s incursion into Iraqi territories and called for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Sunday’s meeting will be the first Arab League summit since Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut their diplomatic ties with Qatar 10 months ago and the first since President Donald Trump announced his decision to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.