Syria returns to the Arab League

The Arab League has renewed Syria’s membership in the organization, which was suspended 12 years ago. This was reported on May 7 by the AR agency.

It was noted that some influential members of the League remain against the return of Damascus, the main one being Qatar, which did not send its foreign minister to Sunday’s meeting.

At the same time, 13 of the organization’s 22 member countries sent foreign ministers to a meeting in Cairo.

“The decision marks a victory for Damascus, albeit a largely symbolic one. With Western sanctions against (Bashar) Assad’s government remaining, the return to the Arab League is not expected to quickly release funds to re rebuild the war-torn country,” AR stressed.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit said the decision to return Syria to the organization would allow Assad to attend the group’s upcoming summit on May 19 in Saudi Arabia.

“This does not mean that the Syrian crisis has been resolved, on the contrary. But it allows the Arab (state) for the first time in many years to talk to the Syrian government to discuss all the problems,” he said.

Abul-Gheit added that the renewal of Damascus’ membership does not mean that all Arab countries have normalized relations with the country.

“These are sovereign decisions for each state separately,” explained the General Secretary.

Recall that Syria’s membership in the Arab League was suspended in early 2011, when a brutally suppressed uprising against Assad’s rule escalated into a civil war. Since March 2011, the conflict has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.