Saudi Arabia Invites President Assad To Arab League Summit, End Of Regional Isolation Against Syria?

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (Source: Vladimir Gerdo TASS via Kremlin)

JAKARTA - Saudi Arabia plans to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the summit of the Arab League which will be held in Riyadh in May, three sources familiar with the plan said a move that would officially end Syria's regional isolation.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will visit Damascus in the next few weeks, to give Assad an official invitation to attend the summit scheduled for May 19, the two sources said.

The communication offices of the Saudi Arabian government and the foreign ministries of the two countries did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Gamal Roshdy, spokesman for the secretary-general of the Arab League, said his organization was not aware of any movement at the bilateral level between Arab countries.

"We shouldn't have been informed beforehand about the planned visit," he added.

President Assad's presence at the summit of the Arab League will mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation in the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was frozen from the organization.

President Assad has been boycotted by many Western and Arab countries, because of his brutal crackdown on protests, violence that has led to prolonged civil war.

Syria's return to membership of 22 member states is only symbolic, but it reflects a change in the regional approach to the Syrian conflict. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the war, attracting many foreign powers and dividing the country.

Last month, sources told Reuters Riyadh and Damascus had reached an agreement to reopen their embassy after the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not confirm the agreement had been reached, but said it was in talks with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resume consular services.

One of the three sources said discussions had been ongoing for more than a year regarding Saudi Arabia's list of demands that the Syrian government had to meet as a condition for improving relations, including close cooperation in terms of border security and drug trafficking.

Initial discussions for Prince Faisal's visit to Damascus or Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Riyadh were postponed due to the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in February, one of the sources said.

Separately, a number of countries, including the United States and Qatar, have opposed normalizing relations with President Assad, citing the brutality of their government during the conflict and the need to see progress towards political solutions in Syria.

It is known that contacts between Saudi and Syrian officials gained momentum after an important March deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Assad's main supporter, to rebuild relations.

The restoration of relations between Riyadh and Tehran is part of a large regional rearrangement, amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel.