Bashar Assad landed in Saudi Arabia Thursday to participate in a regional summit anticipated to seal Syria’s reintegration into the Arab fold, marking his first trip to the oil-rich kingdom since the start of the country’s civil war in 20211.
Assad's attendance at the Arab League summit, which starts Friday, is a major step in normalizing relations following a 12-year suspension which saw the isolated leader turn toward non-Arab allies Iran and Russia to maintain his grip on power.
The 22-member league, which is convening in the Saudi city of Jeddah, recently reinstated Syria and is now poised to welcome Assad, viewed as a regional pariah, back into its ranks. Assad was officially invited to attend the summit last week.
He appeared relaxed and cheerful as he descended onto the tarmac, where he was greeted by Prince Badr bin Sultan, deputy governor of the shrine city Mecca, along with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and several local officials.
It was not immediately clear if Assad will meet some of the Arab leaders attending Friday's summit. During Syria's conflict, Assad only visited Russia and Iran and over the past two years, he went to Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Saudi Arabia was formerly the key backer of armed opposition groups attempting to overthrow Assad. However, in recent months, Riyadh has called for dialogue to end the conflict that has killed half a million people and displaced half of Syria's pre-war population.
While the front lines have mostly quietened, large parts of the country's north remain outside government control, and no political solution has yet been reached to the conflict. Assad's troops have been supported by Russia and Iran.
Relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia had been turbulent since Assad took office in 2000, following the death of his late father and former president, Hafaz Assad. The two countries cut relations in 2012, at the height of Syria's conflict. Last week they agreed on reopening their embassies.
In April, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited Riyadh and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, visited Damascus and met with Assad. Mekdad also took part in the Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Jeddah on Wednesday ahead of the summit.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been pushing for peace in the region and over the past months, Riyadh has improved its relations with Iran, restored ties with Syria, and is ending the kingdom's yearlong war in Yemen. Iran, a main backer of Assad in the country's conflict, signed an agreement in China in March to resume relations with Saudi Arabia.
The renewed Saudi-Iran ties are expected to have positive effects on Middle East countries where the two support rival groups.
However, investments in war-torn Syria are unlikely as crippling Western sanctions against the Assad regime remain in place and could prevent oil-rich Arab countries from rushing to release reconstruction funds.
Washington has been strongly opposed to the normalization of relations with Assad, saying a solution to Syria's conflict based on U.N. Security Council resolutions should happen first.
Diplomatic contacts intensified between Damascus and Arab countries following the Feb. 6, earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria killing over 50,000 people, including over 6,000 in Syria.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have also renewed ties with Damascus, following normalization efforts from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain years ago.
Still, Kuwait, Morocco, and Qatar remain opposed to normalizing relations with Syria and Qatar continues to be a key backer of Syrian opposition groups fighting Assad.