Arab League readmits Syria after 11 years as relations with Assad normalise

Published May 7, 2023
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters, to discuss the Sudan and Syrian situations, in Cairo, Egypt, May 7. — Reuters
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters, to discuss the Sudan and Syrian situations, in Cairo, Egypt, May 7. — Reuters

Arab League foreign ministers adopted a decision to readmit Syria after more than a decade of suspension on Sunday, a league spokesperson said, consolidating a regional push to normalise ties with President Bashar al-Assad.

The decision said Syria could resume its participation in Arab League meetings immediately, while calling for a resolution of the crisis resulting from Syria’s civil war, including the flight of refugees to neighbouring countries and drug smuggling across the region.

It was taken at a closed meeting of foreign ministers at the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo, said Gamal Roshdy, spokesman for the Arab League’s secretary general.

While Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, have pushed for Syria and Assad’s rehabilitation, others, including Qatar, have remained opposed to full normalisation without a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

Some have been keen to set conditions for Syria’s return, with Jordan’s foreign minister saying last week that the Arab League’s reacceptance of Syria would only be the start of “a very long and difficult and challenging process”.

Sunday’s decision said Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and the Arab League’s secretary general would form a ministerial contact group to liaise with the Syrian government and seek “step-by-step” solutions to the crisis.

Practical steps included continuing efforts to facilitate the delivery of aid in Syria, according to a copy of the decision seen by Reuters.

Syria’s membership in the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after a crackdown on street protests against Assad that led to a devastating civil war and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus.

Recently, Arab states have been trying to reach a consensus on whether to invite Assad to an Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh to discuss the pace of normalising ties and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.

Saudi Arabia long resisted restoring relations with Assad but said after its recent rapprochement with Iran — Syria’s key regional ally — that a new approach was needed with Damascus.

Opinion

Editorial

Climate funding gap
17 Feb, 2025

Climate funding gap

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent appeal for climate finance at the World Governments Summit in the UAE...
UN monitoring report
17 Feb, 2025

UN monitoring report

THE latest report of the UN Security Council’s sanctions monitoring team paints a grim picture of the banned...
Tax policy reform
17 Feb, 2025

Tax policy reform

THE cabinet’s decision to create a Tax Policy Office at the finance ministry has raised hopes that tax policy is...
Maintaining balance
Updated 16 Feb, 2025

Maintaining balance

It must take a more proactive approach to establishing Pakistan’s bona fides.
Welcome return
16 Feb, 2025

Welcome return

IT is almost here; the moment Pakistan has long been waiting for — the first International Cricket Council...
Childhood trauma
16 Feb, 2025

Childhood trauma

BEING a child in this society should not be so hard. But recurrent reports of child abuse — from burying girl...