President Assad attends Arab League summit in ‘biggest blow’ to US policy

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was attending the Arab League Summit on Friday for the first time in 12 years in what leading US magazine Newsweek described as a defeat for Washington.

Assad arrived in Jeddah on Thursday to attend the summit upon the invitation of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, first such invitation since Syria was engulfed by foreign-sponsored militancy over 10 years ago.

Syria’s 12-year suspension from the Arab League was lifted on May 7 after a vote by Arab government delegates in Cairo. The decision was supported by all 13 of the 22 member states that were present at the session.

The growing normalization has not been welcomed by Washington whose policies in the past decade have been focused on putting an end to the Assad government and isolating Syria.

On Thursday, Newsweek termed Assad’s visit to Saudi Arabia as the “biggest blow” that President Joe Biden has received when it comes to his anti-Syria policies.

The publication cited the Syrian Mission to the United Nations urging Washington to end its illegal military presence in Syria and lift sanctions against the country.