Arab governments vote for Syria’s return to the Arab League after 12-year suspension

Name: Turkey-Syria quake: more miracle rescues but death toll tops 33,000 one week since disaster
Uploaded: 2023-05-07T15:24:33.000Z
Duration: 3 min 5 s
Description: Turkey-Syria quake: more miracle rescues but death toll tops 33,000 one week since disaster

Syria’s membership was suspended 12 years ago, early on in the uprising-turned-conflict, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions

‘The reinstatement of Syria does not mean normalisation of relations between Arab countries and Syria,’ said Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit

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The Arab League foreign ministers’ meeting in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Reuters

Published: 11:24pm, 7 May 2023Updated: 3:41am, 8 May 2023

The Arab League readmitted Syria on Sunday after more than a decade of suspension, consolidating a regional push to normalise ties with President Bashar al-Assad in a move criticised by Washington.

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.

While Arab states including the United Arab Emirates have pressed to end Assad’s isolation, some have been opposed to full normalisation without a political solution to the Syrian conflict, seeking conditions for Syria’s return.

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Turkey-Syria quake: more miracle rescues but death toll tops 33,000 one week since disaster

Qatar, which had previously opposed Syria’s return to the League, said its position on normalisation had not changed and it hoped regional consensus on Syria could be “a motive for the Syrian regime to address the roots of the crisis”, a foreign ministry spokesman told state news agency QNA.

“The reinstatement of Syria does not mean normalisation of relations between Arab countries and Syria,” Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters in Cairo. “This is a sovereign decision for each country to make.”

Syria called on Arab states to show “mutual respect”.

A US State Department spokesperson said Washington shared the goals of Arab partners in Syria, including building security and stability, but remained “sceptical of Assad’s willingness to take the steps necessary to resolve Syria’s crisis”.

“We do not believe Syria merits readmission into the Arab League at this time,” the spokesperson said, adding that US sanctions would remain in full effect.