Arab League foreign ministers gathered in Cairo on Sunday to vote on whether to restore Syria’s membership to the organization, which was suspended over a decade ago. The meeting took place ahead of the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19, where the potential return of Syria to the Arab fold has been widely anticipated following a recent rapprochement with regional governments. However, there is still no clear consensus among Arab countries about Syria's return to the Arab League, with Qatar, a key backer of opposition groups, notably absent from the Cairo meeting.

Syria's membership in the Arab League was suspended 12 years ago, early in the uprising-turned-conflict that has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of the country's pre-war population. While the body usually attempts to make decisions by consensus, decisions can also be passed with a simple majority vote. The Arab League has not issued a statement indicating the conditions for Syria's return, but experts have suggested that issues related to gridlocked United Nations-brokered political talks with opposition groups, illicit drug smuggling, and refugees are likely to have been prioritized by Saudi Arabia and the region.

As President Bashar Assad regained control of most of the country with the help of key allies Russia and Iran, some of Syria’s neighbors that hosted large refugee populations have taken steps towards re-establishing diplomatic ties with Damascus. Meanwhile, Gulf monarchies the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have re-established ties. The Feb. 6 earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria was a catalyst for further normalization across the Arab world, as well as regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran re-establishing ties in Beijing, which had backed opposing sides in the conflict.

Last week, envoys from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria gathered in Jordan to discuss a framework, dubbed the "Jordanian initiative," that would slowly bring Damascus back into the Arab fold. The meeting was hailed as the "beginning of an Arab-led political path" for a solution to the Syrian crisis. The Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia is also expected to address the conflict in Sudan as Arab governments seek to stabilize a shaky ceasefire in ongoing fighting that has killed hundreds of people over the past few weeks.

AP