By IBRAHIM NAFFEE | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: The situation in Syria could take a turn for the worse if the government continued to disregard calls for reconciliation and reforms, Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu warned Saturday.

“We were promised by top Syrian officials that the security situation would improve, but so far nothing of that sort has happened,” he told Arab News.

Ihsanoglu said he had personally contacted a number of top Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem, in this regard, but the stalemate continues. “Even Al-Muallem promised that the security situation would improve but it did not,” Ihsanoglu said.

“We were also told that some hidden hands were agitating sentiments against Syria. Regrettably, we have not seen any improvement so far. The situation is worsening,” he said.

Ihsanoglu said a number of Arab and Islamic countries had exerted individual efforts to break the stalemate in Syria. “Everyone was trying to bring peace, but nothing happened,” he said, adding that the hardening stance of the government has led to the increase of international campaigns against Syria.

The secretary-general, however, denied any inclination on the part of the OIC to freeze Syria’s membership in the 57-member organization. READ HERE