‘Diplomatic victory’ for Assad as Arab League readmits Syria

SYRIA was readmitted to the Arab League yesterday in a coup for Bashar al-assad that was made possible by thawing relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Damascus has been largely isolated on the world stage for more than a decade owing to a crackdown on protests in 2011 that led to a war in which about 500,000 people died.

While the front lines have mostly quietened, large parts of the country’s north remain outside government control and no political solution to the conflict has been reached.

The United Arab Emirates has been in favour of bringing Syria back into the regional fold for years, but faced opposition from many Arab states. Saudi Arabia recently joined the lobbying efforts after it agreed to normalise diplomatic relations with Iran – one of the main supporters of the Assad regime.

The earthquake that wreaked devastation in Turkey and Syria in February had already encouraged some Arab states to reach out with aid.

“Syria’s regional isolation is officially broken,” said analyst Fabrice Balanche, calling the decision a “diplomatic victory” for Mr Assad. “The earthquake is the best opportunity to get closer without losing face,” he said.

Laila Kiki, executive director of rights group the Syria Campaign, said the move was a “whitewashing of 12 years of atrocities” and a “devastating setback for justice”.

Syrians in exile fear the decision, made at a meeting of foreign ministers in Cairo, could mean they will be sent back to a regime where they are seen as opponents.

For many members of the league, the need to stop the spread of Syrian-produced captagon, a highly addictive drug that has flooded the Middle East, is a major reason for needing to reintegrate the regime.

Mr Assad will attend the next meeting of the Arab League in Saudi Arabia on May 19.