Bashar al-Assad made his big return to the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday. He was greeted with handshakes and smiles as he stepped off a plane in Jeddah. Once a pariah among the Arab League, the 22 member countries are welcoming the Syrian president back. Today explained featuring Lina Qatib, she's the director of the SOWAS Middle East Institute in London.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad became a regional pariah after brutal crackdowns on his own citizens. But on Friday, the most powerful men in the Middle East welcomed him back into the Arab League.
This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy and Haleema Shah, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Matt Collette and Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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