Arab League gives conditional approval for Syria's return to organization

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) — The foreign ministers of Arab League member countries on Sunday gave their conditional approval for Syria's return to the bloc, after a decade of suspending its membership.

The decision came after a vote by the Arab foreign ministers during a session headed by Egypt at the league's headquarters in Cairo.

According to the Saudi Al Majalla magazine, Syria's return to the Arab League was conditioned on the Bashar al-Assad regime taking practical steps towards resolving the crisis in the country wracked by war for over 12 years.

The decision to reinstate Syria's membership comes ahead of the annual Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19.

Syria was suspended from the 22-state body in 2011 over the regime's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, which led to the civil war.

The Syrian regime, however, began to exchange official visits and contacts with several Arab countries in recent months amid reports about a possible resumption of Syria’s membership in the pan-Arab organization.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar