'Disaster diplomacy': Earthquake emboldens Syria's Assad after years of isolation
Analysis: The Syrian regime is taking full advantage of the natural disaster to bolster diplomatic ties.
Over two weeks since Syria was hit by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, aid has poured into the hands of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, long isolated by a decade of international sanctions.
And accompanying the aid has been an outpouring of support for the Syrian president — followed by a chain of calls for his reintegration into the Arab fold.
“It has given Assad hope to re-engage with the international community,” Jordanian political analyst Amer Sabaileh told The New Arab.
On Sunday, nine senior Arab lawmakers met in Damascus for talks on bringing Assad back into the Arab League, which he was suspended from in 2011 due to his brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests.