The foreign ministers of the countries - members of the League of Arab States (LAS) - in Cairo voted Sunday for the restoration of Syria's membership in the organization after it was suspended more than a decade ago, The Associated Press reports.
13 of the 22 Member States that attended the meeting supported this decision. The Arab League generally tries to reach agreement by consensus, but sometimes prefers a simple majority.
Syria's membership in the Arab League was suspended 12 years ago after the outbreak of a conflict that has left nearly half a million people dead since March 2011 and displaced half of the country's pre-war population of 23 million.
There is still no clear consensus among the Arab countries on the return of Syria to the Arab League. It is noteworthy that Qatar, a key supporter of the opposition groups, does not support the normalization of relations and was not present at the meeting in Cairo.