In a significant step in the ongoing process of Syria’s reintegration in regional politics, the council of the Arab League voted on Sunday, May 7, to readmit it as full member of the group.
Though only 13 out of the 22 League members were present in the meeting at its headquarters in Cairo, all voted unanimously in favor of Syria’s re-admission into the regional group founded in 1945.
Syria was one of the founders of the group. Its membership was suspended following the outbreak of the war in the country in 2011. Several members of the League accused the Bashar al-Assad government of violating human rights and went on to support anti-government forces, including Islamist forces.
Syria will be able to participate the upcoming Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19.
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that Assad is welcome to join the upcoming summit “if he wishes to, because Syria, starting from this evening [May 7], is a full member of the Arab League, and from tomorrow morning they have the right to occupy any seat,” Al-Jazeera reported.
Syria’s rejoining the Arab League is the most significant step yet in the process of its reintegration into regional politics. Various Arab countries such as Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, among others, have already reestablished bilateral relations with Syria, and some are in the process of doing so.
Regional and global reactions
While confirming the decision by the Arab League, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates reiterated the need for dialogue and joint action by all countries in the region to face common challenges, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.
Syria’s close ally Iran also welcomed the decision. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said that reconciliation and collaboration to resolve disputes in the region “will deliver favorable results for collective stability and peace and will pave the way for reducing foreign profit seeking interference in regional affairs,” Press TV reported.
The US, which has imposed illegal unilateral sanctions on Syria, had earlier expressed its opposition to Syria’s reintegration into regional politics, claiming that it was a “rogue state.” It also refused to recognize the reconciliation process initiated by individual Arab countries.
Meanwhile, Russia has welcomed the decision of the Arab League. In a statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the move demonstrates the wish of the Arab countries to be independent from external interference and reflects their “aspiration to bolster coordination of actions in the interest of settling pertinent regional and international issues.”
Zakharova also emphasized that the decision “will facilitate a healthier atmosphere in the Middle East region and the swift overcoming of the consequences of the Syrian crisis,” TASS reported.
Some Arab countries—such as Qatar, which still backs anti-Assad forces in Syria, and Kuwait—have refused to normalize their relations with the country, so far. Qatar issued a statement on Sunday claiming that normalization of relations with Syria is conditional to finding a political solution to the war in the country, Reuters reported.
