Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Sunday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may attend the upcoming League summit in Saudi Arabia "if he wishes."
"When the invitation is sent by the host country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and if he wishes to participate, he will participate," he added.
The 32nd summit is set for May 19.
"Syria has the right to take part in all of the meetings," Aboul Gheit told a press conference in Cairo hours after an Arab League meeting that reinstated the country’s membership in the organization.
The decision said Syria could resume its participation in Arab League meetings immediately, while calling for a resolution of the crisis resulting from Syria's civil war, including the flight of refugees to neighboring countries and drug smuggling across the region.
"The reinstatement of Syria does not mean normalization of relations between Arab countries and Syria," Aboul Gheit said. "This is a sovereign decision for each country to make."
