Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been condemned by the international community as the worst war criminal, has officially returned to the international diplomatic arena.

The Arab League held a meeting yesterday (7th) in Cairo, Egypt (local time) and decided on the return of Syria.

President al-Assad is expected to attend the Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the 19th.

When civil war erupted in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring pro-democracy movement, al-Assad's regime massacred anti-government protesters, operated separate detention facilities to suppress opposition figures, and subjected them to torture and other atrocities.

A 2014 UN report documented how children were beaten, had their nails pulled out and sexually assaulted because of their involvement with the rebels.

Arab states severed ties with Syria, citing hard-line crackdowns and atrocities against anti-government protests, and Syria was expelled from the 22-nation Arab League.

As the civil war intensified, Syrian government forces drew international condemnation for spraying civilian areas with chemical weapons to eliminate the rebels.

More than 2014,1 people have been killed by poisonous gas sprayed in rebel-held areas near the capital, Damascus, in 4.

The United Nations Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons recognizes that some of the chemical weapons attacks were attributed to the al-Assad regime.

But as President al-Assad regained control of much of the country with military support from allies such as Russia and Iran, Arab states have recently moved to restore relations.

A particularly decisive factor was the Turkiye earthquake.

Neighboring Arab states reached out to Syria, which had been unable to reach relief due to sanctions.

The atmosphere of reconciliation has matured as Arab countries join the aid effort, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and talks between Arab countries and Syria have taken a nosedive since the Saudi-Iranian agreement to normalize relations in March.

By restoring relations with Syria, Arab states look forward to relieving instability in the region and jointly addressing issues such as drugs, refugees and terrorism.

The Arab League, which decided to return to Syria after several meetings, heralded President al-Assad's attendance at the summit.

(Photo = Getty Images Korea)