![Syrian President Bashar al-Assad [third right] and Mohammed al-Halbousi speaker of Iraqi parliament [on Assad's left] as well as delegates from several Arab states meet in Damascus on February 26, 2023. Photo: AP](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.rudaw.net%2Fs3%2Frudaw.net%2FContentFiles%2F730739Image1.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Arab nations broke off relations with Syria over Damascus’ crackdown on protests that grew into a civil war in 2011. Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia in particular, supported the rebels while Riyadh’s regional rival, Iran, backed Assad.
“The meeting between Arab foreign ministers agreed on the return of Syria to its seat in the Arab League,” Ahmad al-Sahaf, the spokesperson of the Iraqi foreign ministry told Iraqi state media, accentuating that the return will improve the country's security and stability.
On April 15, the foreign ministers of Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, called on solving the conflicts, agreeing on a “vital and leading Arab role” after years of futile efforts to solve the crisis.
On Monday, Jordan hosted a regional summit attended by the foreign ministers of Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iraq, aimed at reaching a political solution for the region’s relations with Damascus. The landmark summit marks the Syrian government’s first meeting with groups of Arab countries since 2011.
During the meeting in Jordan, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein called on restoring stability and growth to Syria, extolling the steps taken by Arab countries towards normalization of ties with the war-torn country.
The GCC consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Oman has been one of the few countries that maintained normal ties without severing diplomatic ties with Syria over the past decade.
In April, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan paid a visit to Damascus meeting with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, a visit which was the first of its kind defrosting a decade-long frozen tie.
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