The 22-nation League is split on whether Syria should be allowed to return after it was suspended over the 2011 unrest, but Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are trying to convince the Cairo-based regional grouping that the time has come to welcome Damascus back to the fold, US media reported.
The news agency cited three people briefed by the Saudis and one person close to the Emirati government as saying that Syria could be readmitted as early as this May, in time for the Arab League summit in Riyadh. There is, however, a risk that this will be delayed or even fall through, it said.
Qatar and Kuwait oppose the effort, but people briefed on the discussions told the new agency that the two would not be able to resist Saudi pressure for too long. The US knows of the plan and has warned against it but can do little to change the course of events, the news agency was told.
Saudi Arabia and Iran took Washington aback in March by announcing that they would end their decades old rivalry and reopen their respective embassies within two months. Iran, which is not part of the Arab League, has supported the Syrian government and will welcome its return to Cairo.