Syria Expelled from Arab League Since 2011 Civil War Outbreak
Saudi Arabia, which has normalized diplomatic relations with Iran, is expected to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the upcoming Arab League (AL) summit. Syria was expelled from the Arab League following the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
According to major foreign media on the 3rd, it is anticipated that within weeks, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan will visit Damascus to officially deliver the invitation. The Arab League summit is scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia on May 19.
Neither the Saudi government nor the Arab League responded to requests for confirmation regarding the plan to invite Syria.
Syria was expelled from the 22-member Arab League after the civil war broke out in 2011. Arab countries and Western nations pointed to President Bashar al-Assad’s harsh crackdown on anti-government protests as the cause of the civil war and initially supported the opposition forces.
As the war reached a stalemate, President al-Assad regained control over most of the country with military support from allied countries such as Russia and Iran, and Arab states have shown efforts to restore relations with him in recent years. In particular, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made efforts to restore relations with Syria, inviting President al-Assad both last March and again this month.
Especially after the February earthquake in T?rkiye (Turkey), Arab countries including Saudi Arabia provided aid, further warming the atmosphere for reconciliation. The Jordanian Foreign Minister visited Syria for the first time since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, and Oman, a key Western military and strategic partner, also invited President al-Assad to the country.
Currently, as the al-Assad regime receives full support from Iran, the agreement to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran is analyzed to have accelerated contacts between Saudi Arabia and Syria.
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