Syria readmitted to Arab League after 12-year suspension

Arab League foreign ministers adopted on Sunday a decision to readmit Syria after more than a decade of suspension, a spokesperson for the League said, consolidating a regional push to normalize ties with President Bashar al-Assad.

The decision was taken at a closed meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo, said Gamal Roshdy, spokesman for the Arab League's secretary general.

Syria's membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after the government's crackdown on street protests against Assad, which was followed by a devastating civil war, and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus.

Recently, several Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have re-engaged with Syria in high-level visits and meetings, though some, including Qatar, remain opposed to full normalization without a political solution to Syria's conflict.