Syria: The foreign ministers of Arab League member states have voted to reinstate Syria’s membership, more than a decade after it was suspended due to a crackdown on protesters that led to a devastating civil war that has killed nearly half a million people and displaced another 23 million.

The decision was made ahead of the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19 and comes amid a recent trend of regional nations normalising ties with Damascus.

The move was made following a meeting of top diplomats from Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria in Jordan, where they dubbed the process of bringing Syria back into the Arab fold the “Jordanian Initiative.”

Arab League Secretary-General Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit stated that President Bashar al-Assad can attend the Arab League summit later this month “if he wishes to.”

Responding to a question over whether al-Assad could participate at the summit in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Aboul Gheit told a news conference in Cairo that “if he wishes, because Syria, starting from this evening, is a full member of the Arab League, and from tomorrow morning they have the right to occupy any seat. When the invitation is sent by the hosting country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and if he wishes to participate, he will participate,”

Syria recently called for Arab states to show “mutual respect” after the Arab League voted to readmit it.

Arab states should pursue “an effective approach based on mutual respect,” the Syrian foreign ministry noted in a statement that also stressed the “importance of joint work and dialogue to undertake the challenges facing Arab countries.”

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