Arab nations set to rehabilitate Syria’s pariah president in defiance of US

Speaking to CNN’s Becky Anderson Thursday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said he believes there are enough votes among Arab League members for Syria to return to the bloc, adding that Jordan has kept the US informed in its efforts to rebuild ties with the regime.

But just this week, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel made it clear that that Washington is not on board with such plans. The US “will not normalize relations with the Assad regime and we do not support others normalizing with Damascus either,” he said at a State Department briefing in Washington, DC.

Arab states have argued that the status quo in Syria is untenable and has caused them a headache at home. Syria has over the past decade turned into a narco-state, exporting highly addictive amphetamines across the border to Jordan and to Saudi Arabia. In a Wednesday opinion piece in Saudi newspaper Arab News, Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League Hossam Zaki said that the May 19 summit is “a step on the road toward finding and activating Arab solutions to Arab problems and crises.

It’s unclear if the US will stand in the way of Arab states’ efforts to bring Syria back into the regional fold. Safadi told CNN that Jordan and other Arab countries are constantly discussing the matter with Washington and are working towards a solution that is consistent with UN Resolution 2254. Qutaiba Idlbi, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, said that US normalization with the Assad regime is unlikely to bring any foreign policy or security benefits to the Biden administration, and will therefore not be pursued, especially ahead of the presidential elections next year. Arab normalization, he argued, may be seen in a positive light in Washington despite its public objections as it “strengthens regional leadership on regional issues.

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