Analysis-Arabs bring Syria's Assad back into fold but want action on drugs trade

FILE PHOTO-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 15, 2023. Sputnik/Vladimir Gerdo/Pool via REUTERS

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Having brought President Bashar al-Assad in from the cold, Arab states want him to rein in Syria's flourishing drugs trade in exchange for even closer ties. But as Damascus makes its own demands, the way ahead appears far from simple.

Arab states turned the page on years of confrontation with Assad on Sunday by letting Syria back into the Arab League, a milestone in his regional rehabilitation even as the West continues to shun him after years of civil war.