Briefly

SAUDI ARABIA

Assad might attend Arab leaders' summit

Saudi Arabia is planning to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to an Arab League summit that Riyadh is hosting in May, three sources familiar with the plans said, a move that would formally end Syria's regional isolation. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus in coming weeks to hand Assad a formal invitation to attend the summit scheduled for May 19, two of the sources said. Assad's attendance at the summit would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the organization. Syria's return to the 22-member body would be mostly symbolic but it reflects a change in the regional approach toward the Syrian conflict, Reuters commented.