Syria assad

Bashar Assad's attendance at the Arab League summit after a 13-year absence signals a potential regional reintegration, despite sparking controversy and eliciting mixed reactions from Syrians at home

While Arab countries appear to have brought Assad in from the cold, they are still demanding that he curbs Syria's drug trade.

Arab League partners expect Syrian President Bashar Assad to deal with massive trafficking of the amphetamine Captagon, but the drug’s production and distribution network is embedded in Syria

Readmitting Syria into the Arab League was a "shock" for Syrians and would "kill the political process," said Bader Jamous, the head of the opposition's negotiating team

Safadi said Syria's readiness to make real progress in resolving the conflict would help it win the crucial Arab support to lobby for an eventual end of Western sanctions

As part of a reciprocal road map toward normalized relations with Syria, Arab countries are calling on Syria to address its illegal drug production and the militias in the country.

It said government-backed militias were "attempting to evade the sanctions by changing their name and seeking to attract international contracts by posing as private security firms."

On March 25, Qatar, which has rejected previous calls to reinstate Syria to the Arab League, announced its support for the Jordanian initiative.

Syria would also need to take steps to stamp out a multi-billion dollar drug trafficking trade to Jordan and the Gulf from it's southern borders.

Qatar, which has previously spoken out against efforts by some countries to reestablish relations with Damascus, has not changed its position, Sheikh Mohammed said.