Assad regime’s return to Arab League not on summit agenda

The Arab League said Sunday (March 24) it was not planning to discuss reinstating Assad regime's membership at a summit later this month, more than eight years after suspending it as the country descended into war.

The pan-Arab bloc, which is set to hold its annual summit in Tunisia on March 31, froze Assad regime's membership in November 2011 over a bloody Assad regime crackdown on protesters.

But several of the bloc's other 21 members have recently renewed ties with the Assad regime, and some have called for Assad regime to be re-admitted to the league.

"The issue of Syria's return to the Arab League has yet to be listed on the agenda and has not been formally proposed," said the League's spokesman Mahmoud Afifi.

He noted that the "Syrian crisis" however still tops the agenda.

Earlier this month, Assad regime officials attended a meeting of Arab states in neighbouring Jordan for the first time since the country's Arab League membership was suspended.

Based on AFP