Arab League hints at Syria’s impending return to fold

Hossam Zaki, assistant secretary-general of the Arab League, hinted Wednesday at Syria’s possible return to the pan-Arab body, according to Egypt’s MENA news agency.

Syria’s membership in the Cairo-based league has been suspended since 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity, triggering eight years of conflict.

Zaki told reporters in Cairo that Syria’s return to the Arab League “will depend on the views of league member-states regarding Damascus’s willingness to reach a political compromise and the regime’s ties to Iran”.

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He went on to assert that the Syria crisis would be addressed at an upcoming Arab League summit to be held in Tunisia on Saturday.

Last month, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit said there was still “no consensus” among league member-states regarding Syria’s return to the Arab fold.