Syria Rejoins Arab League After Assad Normalizes Relations

A league spokesperson said Arab League foreign ministers decided Sunday to readmit Syria after more than a decade, bolstering a regional push to normalize relations with President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria could return to Arab League meetings immediately, but the decision called for a resolution of the civil war's refugee crisis and drug smuggling.

The Arab League's Cairo headquarters hosted a closed foreign ministers' meeting.

Qatar, an outspoken Assad opponent, said Sunday it would not normalize relations with the Syrian government despite its readmission to the league.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Assad could attend a summit in Saudi Arabia later this month "if he wishes to".

Aboul Gheit told a Cairo news conference that Assad could attend the summit in Riyadh on 19 May "if he wishes, because Syria, starting from this evening, is a full member of the Arab League, and from tomorrow morning they have the right to occupy any seat." "When the invitation is sent by the hosting country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and if he wishes to participate, he will participate," he added.

Arab states like the UAE have supported Syria and Assad's rehabilitation, but others, like Qatar, have opposed full normalization without a political solution.

"Tough process"

Jordan's foreign minister said last week that the Arab League's reacceptance of Syria would be the start of "a very long and difficult and challenging process".

Sunday's decision established a ministerial contact group to negotiate "step-by-step" solutions with the Syrian government.

A copy of the decision seen by Reuters included continuing aid delivery in Syria.

Syria called for "mutual respect" after the Arab League vote on Sunday.

The Syrian foreign ministry stressed "an effective approach based on mutual respect" and the "importance of joint work and dialogue to undertake the challenges facing Arab countries" in a statement.

After Assad's crackdown on street protests led to a devastating civil war, many Arab states withdrew their envoys from Damascus and suspended Syria's Arab League membership in 2011.

After reconciling with Iran, Syria's main regional ally, Saudi Arabia said it needed a new approach with Damascus.

Qatar Assad

The US criticized Syria's readmission into the league, saying Damascus did not deserve it and questioning Assad's willingness to end the civil war.

A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aligned with its allies on the "ultimate objectives" and that Arab partners intended to use direct engagement with Assad to solve the country's long-standing crisis.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, told the state Qatar News Agency that his government would not be "an obstacle" to the Arab move, but any individual normalization would be linked to political progress that "fulfills the aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people".

"Address the roots of the crisis that led to its boycott, and take positive steps towards addressing the issues of the Syrian people," the spokesman said of Assad's government.

Qatar has helped Syrian opposition groups seize the Syrian embassy in Doha.

Ansari told Qatari media that the Damascus government committed "crimes" and that "We need a real price to be paid to the Syrian people."