Qatar‘s position on normalizing relations with Syria after its return to the League of Arab States (LAS) remains unchanged, stated the official spokesperson of the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majid al-Ansari, to the QNA news agency.

During their extraordinary meeting on Sunday, the heads of the Arab League approved Syria’s return to the regional organization after a 12-year hiatus.

According to the official spokesperson of the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Qatar’s position on normalizing relations with the Syrian regime has not changed.”

Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, Qatar has been one of the harshest critics of the authorities in Damascus and has provided active support to the armed opposition.

“The State of Qatar always seeks to support what allows for achieving Arab consensus and will not obstruct it. However, Qatar’s official position regarding the normalization of relations with the Syrian regime is a decision primarily related to progress in the political settlement that fulfills the aspirations of the fraternal Syrian people,” the statement from the foreign ministry said.

According to the spokesperson, Doha “strives to collaborate with Arab brethren in realizing the aspirations of the fraternal Syrian people for dignity, peace, development, and prosperity.”

“In order for this consensus to become a motive for the Syrian regime to address the roots of the crisis that led to its boycott, it should take positive steps to resolve the problems of the Syrian people,” added the official spokesperson.

Syria’s membership in the LAS was frozen in November 2011 following the start of the armed conflict in the country. Several Arab countries withdrew their ambassadors from Damascus. The Syrian leadership at the time stated that it did not accept the decision of Arab ministers to suspend their participation in the work of the pan-Arab organization, considering it illegal. Meanwhile, the LAS did not effectively participate in negotiations for a settlement in Syria, despite it being one of the key countries in the Arab world.