RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in Syria, the Kingdom’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The decision comes after the Arab League on Sunday welcomed back Syria’s government, ending a more than decade-long suspension.

In November 2011, the body suspended Damascus over its crackdown on peaceful protests, which had begun earlier that year and which spiralled into a war that has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions, and battered the country’s infrastructure and industry.

“In the interests of contributing to the development of joint Arab action and strengthening security and stability in the region, and taking into account the decision issued by the ministerial meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of Arab States that was held in Cairo,” the Kingdom has decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in Syria, the ministry said.