Syria could return to Arab League, but not yet: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has said increased engagement with Syria might
pave the way for its return to the Arab League as ties thaw
after more than a decade of isolation, but it was currently too
early to discuss such a step.

Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud reiterated on Tuesday that consensus
was building in the Arab world that isolating Syria was not
working and that dialogue with Damascus was needed, especially
to address the humanitarian situation there.

“An engagement in order to address these concerns is
necessary. And that may well lead eventually to Syria returning
to the Arab League et cetera, but for now, I think it’s too
early to discuss,” he told reporters in London.

Saudi Arabia will host this year’s Arab League summit.

Asked whether Syria would be welcome, Prince Faisal said: “I think it’s too early to talk about that.”

“But I can say that … that there is a consensus building in the Arab world, that the status quo is not tenable. And that means we have to find a way to move beyond that status quo.”

Support after quakes 

Syria was largely isolated from the rest of the Arab world
following regime leader Bashar al Assad’s deadly crackdown against protests that erupted
against his rule in 2011.

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in 2011 and
many Arab countries pulled their envoys out of Damascus.

But Assad has benefited from an outpouring of support from
Arab states following the devastating earthquake on February 6,
which killed thousands of Syrians.

Algeria hosted the first Arab League summit before the
Covid-19 pandemic in November. Damascus stayed away after
Algeria failed to persuade other Arab states to end Syria’s
suspension.