Syria aims to strengthen regional relations after returning to bloc

Last year, at the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Arab states brought Syria into the fold after 12 years of isolation, marking a turning point in the country’s relations with the region.

Many viewed the move as a political victory for Damascus, which was shunned after a crackdown on demonstrations turned into a civil war.

The reversal of the suspension of Syria’s Arab League membership was also part of a larger regional realignment in that Saudi Arabia re-established ties with Iran last year.

“There’s hope in the increasing Arab rapprochement and the launch of a new phase of joint action,” Syrian President Bashar Al Assad said at the summit last year.

The latest summit is set to be dominated by the war in Gaza. But the Syrian conflict, albeit to a lesser degree than last year, will still feature on the bloc’s agenda.

Hossam Zaki, assistant secretary general of the Arab League, said there was “a decision on the crisis in Syria” made during the foreign ministers’ meeting on Tuesday.

He said it “builds on opening lines of communications between the committee responsible for following up on the crisis in Syria”.

Damascus has slowly reestablished diplomatic ties with regional states in recent years, but more so since it regained Arab League membership. Mr Al Assad will not speak at the Arab League summit and will instead focus on discussions relating to “Arab states’ relations and the latest developments on the situation in Palestine”, sources told The National.

Bassam Abdullah, a professor in international relations at the University of Damascus, said there was “slow progress in relations between Syria and the Arab region” due to “each Arab country’s own circumstances … but changes are happening gradually.”

In January this year, the first UAE ambassador to Syira in about 13 years took up his post in Damascus.

Days later, Saudi Arabia sent a delegation to resume consular services, further reintegrating Syria into the Arab diplomatic sphere.

Abdullah Menini, secretary general of the Arab Parties’ Conference in Damascus, praised the UAE, which he said “stood with Damascus in all crises, did not abandon it and continues to provide all forms of support to it”.

The visit of UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed to Damascus in March last year was a “leap in Syrian-Arab relations and a gateway to the return of these relations to what they were 14 years ago”, Mr Menini said.

Despite much of the summit in Manama set to focus on the war in Gaza, the continued crises brought by the Syrian civil war will take years to resolve and would require substantial regional efforts to contribute to the country’s reconstruction.

Such efforts are likely to be discussed at the summit.

Mr Menini said more pressure needed to be added to western powers “to remove the sanctions on Syria that have affected every aspect of his life”.

He criticised the rift between the Arab states and Damascus, because of the “pivotal role that Syria represents in the entire Arab region”.

Damascus has developed ties with states in recent years, but more so since it regained its Arab League membership