Syria is back in the influential Arab League, more than a decade after being thrown out for its brutal repression of pro-democracy protests, which led to the ongoing civil war.
The move is further evidence of a thaw in relations between Damascus and other Arab governments.
Syria’s readmittance comes ahead of a summit in Saudi Arabia later this month that President Bashar al-Assad may now attend.
The US and UK have criticised the move.
A state department spokesman said Syria did not deserve to be reinstated but that the US supported the Arab League’s long-term objective of solving the crisis in Syria.
The UK’s Minister of State Foreign Commonwealth & Development Affairs, Lord Ahmad, said the UK remained “opposed to engagement with the Assad regime” and that Mr Assad continued to “detain, torture and kill innocent Syrians”.
In a statement, Syria’s foreign ministry said it had received the League’s decision “with great attention” and called for “greater Arab cooperation and…
This article was written by and originally published on www.bbc.co.uk