Arab Foreign Ministers Agree to Syria's Return to the Arab League

Arab foreign ministers agreed on Sunday to allow Syria to return to the Arab League after more than a decade of suspension. The spokesperson for the Arab League stated that the ministers decided to reinstate Syria during a closed-door meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo. Several regional countries have exerted significant pressure to normalize relations with Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, and the decision to reinstate Syria is in line with this effort. According to Reuters, Jamal Rushdi, spokesperson for the Arab League Secretary-General, announced that this decision was made during the meeting of Arab foreign ministers. A few days prior, Barbara Leaf, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, met with the Jordanian foreign minister. Washington has stated that it will not change its policy towards the Syrian government, which it labels as a 'rogue' regime, and has urged Arab countries to extract concessions from Assad if they choose to engage with Syria. Syria's membership in the Arab League was suspended in 2011 following the deadly crackdown on street protests against Assad, which subsequently led to a widespread civil war, prompting many Arab countries to withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus. However, recently several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have resumed high-level meetings with Syria. Nevertheless, some countries, such as Qatar, oppose the full normalization of relations with Syria in the absence of a political solution to its internal conflict. Arab countries are working to reach a consensus on whether to invite Assad to participate in the Arab League summit scheduled for May 19 in Riyadh. They are expected to discuss the pace of normalization and the conditions under which Syria can be allowed to return.