The League of Arab States (LAS) has voted to restore the Syrian Arab Republic’s membership, 12 years after its expulsion. The League’s decision states that Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and the Secretary General of the Arab League will form a ministerial group to liaise with the Syrian government and seek solutions to the crisis through mutual stages.
The Jordanian representative added that Syria must demonstrate serious steps to reach a political solution to the civil war, as this is a prerequisite for its reintegration into the Arab League. However, Qatar and Kuwait abstained from voting. They oppose the full normalization of relations with Damascus without a political solution to the Syrian conflict.
However, President Joe Biden’s administration has been skeptical of the Arab League’s move to normalize relations with Damascus, stressing that any sanctions against Syria by the United States will remain unwavering.
“While we are skeptical of Assad’s willingness to take the necessary steps to resolve the serious crisis in Syria, we agree with our Arab partners on the ultimate goals. We consulted our partners on their plans and made it clear that we would not normalize relations with the Assad regime and that our sanctions remained in place. We continue to believe that the political solution set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2254 remains the only viable solution to the conflict,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during the press briefing. .
Some American analysts, commenting on the Arab League’s decision, claim that Assad won the civil war, showing unbounded cruelty. Center for European Defense Policy Analysis expert Alexander Crowther (Transatlantic Defense and Security Program, Center for European Policy Analysis) said:
“I hate to say this, but Assad won the civil war and defeated his neighbors. You see, when you have a neighbor and you try to evict them, but you can’t, after more than ten years, the only option is to somehow improve relations with him. This is called international realpolitik. So they tried, they worked with us. We also tried, but not very hard. And we failed. And maybe it’s time for us to just say, okay, Assad, you know, we’ll support you, but there are five criteria you have to meet. All the resolutions on Syria from the European Union and the United States talk about political inclusion, human rights and things like that.
Many human rights organizations have criticized the normalization of relations between Arab countries and the Assad regime. They believe that by doing so, the Arab League is “whitewashing the regime” which committed hundreds of crimes against humanity during the civil war, including the repeated use of chemical weapons against Syrian rebels.
In an interview with the American media Russian Service, Brookings Institution expert Riva Dhingra (Reva Dhingra, Brookings Institution) said Syrian refugees are afraid to return to their homeland, where Assad’s repressive apparatus awaits them:
“(The Arab League decision) indicates that the regional governments confirmed the Syrian government’s scorched earth tactic targeting the civilian population and said: well, despite all this, we will bring you back to our ranks. Efforts to bring Assad back into the Arab League and return the refugees without fundamental security changes for the Syrian people will be a mistake. Syrian refugees strongly fear forced return. And I think that’s something to pay attention to. The main problem facing many Syrian refugees is that they are worried about insecurity. Many are afraid of potential punishment and harassment, according to polling data. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have published several documented cases on this subject. »
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia – once an opponent of the Syrian authorities – announced the restoration of the kingdom’s diplomatic mission in Damascus. Saudi monarch Salman bin Abdulaziz has invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend the Arab League summit on May 19.
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