Arab League Votes to Readmit Syria
On Sunday, the Arab League voted to readmit Syria, marking a significant step in Damascus’ efforts to normalize relations with regional countries.
Syria was suspended from the Arab League at the outbreak of war in 2011, and many of the bloc’s members threw their support behind the failed regime change effort against President Bashar al-Assad.
Some members of the Arab League opposed bringing Damascus back into the fold, including Qatar, which did not send its foreign minister to the meeting in Cairo, where the vote was held. Foreign ministers from 13 out of 22 Arab League members attended the meeting.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Arab League’s secretary-general, said Assad could attend the next Arab League summit that will be held in Saudi Arabia later this month. “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,” he said.
