© SANA via AP/TASS

May 19, 2023 saw Saudi Arabia host the 32nd summit of the League of Arab States (LAS). Not only was it the most significant over the past few years but a unifying one, and this is what it may go down in history.

One of the summit’s momentous decisions was recognition by the majority of leaders of Syria’s rehabilitation after suspended LAS membership over harsh government measures to suppress popular unrest, which escalated into recusancy and mass riots.

At the Jeddah forum, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was personally received by Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman al-Saud, and the two had rather lengthy negotiations. Bashar al-Assad addressed summit attendants to express gratitude to the fraternal peoples for having his country back in the Arab League, and spoke about his government’s priorities.

The Syria decision was announced on May 7 in Cairo at a meeting of the League's foreign ministers upon condition of implementing the roadmap for ending the civil conflict by Damascus, as outlined by Jordan’s Foreign Minister while visiting the Syrian capital on May 1. The demands include solving the refugee issue, releasing political prisoners, search for the missing, fight against drug smuggling, and withdrawing pro-Iranian armed groups.

With conditions being rather stressful, Bashar al-Assad will have to project courage and political will to recognize all of his mistakes and miscalculations in approaching the domestic crisis. This particularly refers to political prisoners and those missing. Of course, it will be difficult to fully comply with getting rid of foreign Shiite militias subordinate to Iran’s power structures, wo still had a major positive part in jointly fighting against international terrorism. However, irregular Shiite militias, especially in southern Syria, have recently become a real obstacle to establishing sovereignty and an aversive irritant to the locals because of engagement in drug production and smuggling into the region. Moreover, their illegal activities are often covered by the command of a Republican Guard division stationed in the south, subordinate to the President himself.

Despite all the challenges, Bashar al-Assad will have to fulfill the Arab League’s numerous requirements, since the country's affiliation alone can ensure acquisition of material and economic assistance in restoring its war-destroyed economy and attracting investment to bypass sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe.

The Western reaction to Bashar al-Assad's LAS summit participation was naturally negative. "Readmitting Assad to the Arab League is a grave strategic mistake that will embolden Assad, Russia, and Iran to continue butchering civilians and destabilizing the Middle East," the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

However, it's all one can expect from Washington. The US was hopeful that its allies like Qatar, Kuwait and Morocco would block Syria's renewed membership, but they can hardly object the rising Saudi Arabia. There was an incident at the forum: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani of Qatar left Jeddah even before the meeting ended. Arab observers suggest that he was dissatisfied with Bashar al-Assad's speech contents.

As sort of counterweight to Syria's full-fledged summit engagement, it featured the presence of Ukrainian chief nationalist Zelensky, who also got a chance to address the Arab leaders. His speech was full of fierce hatred of Russia and its people, with accusations of genocide and other "crimes".

In his closing remarks, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia refrained from criticizing Russia and declared readiness to mediate peace negotiations for Ukraine.

In the recent years, Russia has been actively working to smooth relations between Syria and the Arab states, primarily focusing on a Saudi about-face on the Syrian crisis and ties normalization with Iran. China was also engaged here, reinforcing its economic influence with intensive diplomatic activity, and strengthening authority both in the Arab world and across the globe. The Russian-paved way let the PRC demonstrate to the United States third countries’ boosted credibility and ability to independently make decisions pursuant to their national interests.

Russia propitiously accepted the Arab summit’s Syria decision, hopeful of help and support in making things better in that country. One should understand that with Bashar al-Assad in power, Syria will not pull away from Russia.