US slams Arab League move

The United States on Monday criticised the Arab League decision to readmit Syria, saying that President Bashar al-Assad does not deserve normalization after his country's brutal civil war. "We do not believe that Syria merits readmission to the Arab League at this time," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. "We continue to believe that we will not normalize our relations with the Assad regime and we don't support our allies and partners doing so either," he said. Key members of Congress across party lines took a much harsher tone and urged the United States to use the power of sanctions to prevent normalization with Assad.