VIDEO: Bashar Al Assad lands in Saudi for Arab League Summit first time in more than a decade
Deputy Emir of Makkah Prince Badr Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz welcomes Bashar Al Assad in Jeddah. AFP
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad arrived in Saudi Arabia Thursday, state media said, to join an Arab League summit for the first time in more than a decade of war.
Assad "arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah to participate in... the Arab League summit" on Friday, Syrian state television reported.
The visit marks Assad's official return to the Arab fold after the body suspended Damascus in November 2011.
Saudi Arabia invited the Syrian president to participate in the 32nd session of the Arab League Council meeting at the summit level, which will be held in Jeddah on May 19.
This is after the Arab states agreed to restore Syria's full membership in the Arab League, following 12 years of suspension due to the conflict.
On Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Al Mekdad said in televised remarks from Jeddah that: “President Assad will be here to attend the Arab summit … and now, thanks to wisdom and correct leadership, we will return to our normal position as Arabs.”
Syrian pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said Assad will likely meet "a number of leaders in bilateral meetings" on Thursday evening and Friday morning.
The last Arab League summit Assad attended was in 2010 in Libya.
In 2018, the United Arab Emirates re-established ties with Syria and has been leading the charge to reintegrate Damascus into the Arab fold.
Arab outreach to Assad picked up pace after a deadly earthquake struck Syria and Turkey on February 6.
