(CAIRO) Arab foreign ministers on Sunday backed the Syrian regime at the Arab League, sidelined since the suppression of a popular uprising in 2011 that degenerated into a devastating war.
The decision comes amid a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad desperately needs investors for a massive reconstruction project in his country.
“Representatives of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic will once again sit in the Arab League,” the text of the unanimous vote behind closed doors at the Cairo-based Arab League indicated.
President Assad will be “willingly welcomed” to the Pan-Arab Organization’s annual summit of heads of state in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 19, said Ahmed Abul Caid, secretary general of the Arab League.
Damascus has said it wants to “strengthen cooperation” within a region that has sidelined the Syrian president since 2011.
Mr. Assad has recently emerged from his non-executive status, benefiting in particular from a surge of global solidarity after February’s earthquake devastated large parts of Syria and Turkey.
“Diplomatic Victory”
“This is a diplomatic victory” for Damascus, said Syria expert Fabrice Ballance, noting that there is no longer any obstacle to reopening all Arab embassies in Syria.
However, Mr. Abul Kait pointed out on Sunday.
This is a dramatic turnaround considering that in 2013 the anti-Assad opposition was able to take Syria’s seat at the Arab League summit in Qatar, one of the countries that backed the Syrian rebels.
The wealthy Gulf state voted Sunday to reintegrate the Syrian regime into the pan-Arab body, but foreign ministry spokesman Majeed al-Ansari assured that its position “has not changed” to “normalization” with Damascus.
Any normalization with Damascus must be linked to political progress that “meets the aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people,” he said.
The war in Syria has involved regional and international actors, fragmented the country, caused about half a million deaths and millions of refugees and displaced persons. If the main fronts remain silent, there is no political solution yet.
In addition to the surge of international solidarity after the February 6 earthquake, Mr. Assad benefited.
In mid-April, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Moqdad paid a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia, his first since the conflict began.
Damascus has seen a recent march by representatives of Arab countries that have so far refused to mend their ties with Syria, with some calling for Mr. They made Assad’s exit a condition.
Now, Syria is hoping for a full default with Arab countries, especially the wealthy Gulf monarchies, to finance its expensive reconstruction.
“Abandoned” Syrians
With time and the support of Russia and Iran, Mr Assad has regained control of most of the country, although four million people still live in rebel- and jihadist-held areas in the northwest.
The Syrian National Alliance, the main opposition coalition, said Sunday’s decision was an “abandonment” of Syrians, leaving them “without official Arab support”.
“Allowing (Assad) to escape punishment for his war crimes against Syrians is unacceptable,” the Turkey-based group said.
In rebel areas too, the announcement was met with fury.
“We had to leave our homes that Assad destroyed,” says Ghazan Mohammed al-Youssef, in a camp for displaced people in Idlib. “Let the Arab leaders tell us where they want us to go now? “, he tells AFP.
In November 2011, 18 of the Arab League’s 22 members stopped attending meetings of the Syrian government.
The Pan-Arab Organization imposed economic sanctions on Syria and ended air links.
A press release issued on Sunday was silent on the matter.
