Bashar al-Assad to attend Arab League summit in Riyadh in May

From Reuters:

Saudi Arabia is planning to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to an Arab League summit that Riyadh is hosting in May, three sources familiar with the plans said, a move that would formally end Syria's regional isolation.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus in coming weeks to hand Assad a formal invitation to attend the summit scheduled for May 19, two of the sources said.

The Saudi government's communication office and the foreign ministries of both countries did not respond to requests for comments.

Gamal Roshdy, spokesperson for the Arab League secretary general, said the organisation is not privy to every move on the bilateral level between Arab countries.

"We are not supposed to be informed in advance about the assumed visit," he added.

Assad's attendance at an Arab League summit would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the organisation. Assad had been boycotted by many Western and Arab states over his brutal crackdown on protests - violence that led to a protracted civil war.

I remember the Arab League suspended Syria from the organization due to al-Assad's brutal response to peaceful protests in Damascus in early 2011, and it is extraordinary to think that Saudi Arabia is bringing Assad back into the regional fold after all this time arming and supporting Assad's opponents in the Syrian civil war. Biden administration have on previous occasions adopted the position by the Obama administration that Bashar al-Assad lost his legitimacy to rule because of what he did to his people, especially gassing civilians to death.