Assad heads to Saudi Arabia for Arab League for first summit in 12 years
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is heading to the Saudi city of Jeddah today for an in-person appearance at the Arab League summit tomorrow, May 19. It will be al-Assad’s first visit to the kingdom since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.
The Arab League Assistant Secretary-General called the move “a new phase in dealing with Syria” yesterday, May 17.
A number of Middle East states have pushed for normalization with Damascus in past months. Among them are Jordan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, which also improved its relations with Syria’s backer Iran.
A number of other states have also shown their willingness to normalize relations, such as Egypt and Turkey. Ankara is likely to seek rapprochement with the al-Assad government regardless of which candidate wins the presidency on May 28.
The around four million Syrians living in Turkey have become deeply unpopular with the Turkish public. Both leading coalitions have promised to deport them.
The deportation of Syrians also increased in Lebanon, host to two million more Syrians, which never completely cut its ties with Damascus.
Middle East states are likely to want to improve regional security and invest in the war-ravaged country. Jordan and Gulf countries also want al-Assad to rein the trade in captagon, a drug produced and transported through Syria.
Saudi Arabia offered Syria to retake its seat at the Arab League, a regional diplomatic body. Though a largely symbolic gesture, it signals increasing acceptance of al-Assad, who was kicked from the Arab League for his brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
The UAE have also invited al-Assad to the UN Cop28 climate change conference in Dubai this November. It would be the first global summit al-Assad attends since 2011. According to The Guardian newspaper, the UAE likely did not consult with Western diplomats before issuing the invitation.
Western governments, especially the US, have criticized the fact that al-Assad has been welcomed back into the fold of Middle East politics without any concessions. Concerned US lawmakers have proposed the Assad Anti-Normalization Act, which, if passed, would bar the White House from normalizing ties with Damascus and sanction other governments that do.