The foreign ministers of the countries participating in the Arab League decided to return Syria to the organization and normalize relations with the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reports .
The decision, according to which the Syrian delegation can begin to take part in League meetings, also calls for a resolution of the crisis related to the civil war in Syria, which has led to a large number of refugees and increased drug trafficking in the region. It was adopted at a closed meeting at the organization's headquarters in Cairo (Egypt).
The rehabilitation of the Assad regime was advocated, among others, by the UAE, while Qatar opposed this decision. Representatives of other countries spoke out in favor of setting harsh conditions for Syria, after which it would be able to return to the League.
As a result, it was decided that representatives of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and the Secretary General of the organization Gamal Rushdie will create a contact group to maintain contact with the Syrian authorities for a "step by step" overcoming the crisis.
Syria's membership in the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after the Assad regime's bloody crackdown on street protests that led to civil war in the country. Many Arab states have since withdrawn their ambassadors from Damascus.
In September 2015, Russia launched a military operation in Syria to support the regime of Bashar al-Assad. In the course of it, the International Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria at the UN counted many war crimes committed, including by the Russian Military Space Forces, during the bombing of civilians.