The United States on Sunday said Syria does not merit to be brought back into the Arab League.

The United States believed, however, that Arab partners intend to use the direct engagement with Bashar Assad to push to solve the country’s long-standing crisis and that Washington was aligned with its allies on the “ultimate objectives,” a State Department spokesperson said.

The Arab League readmitted Syria on Sunday after more than a decade of suspension.

“The reinstatement of Syria does not mean normalization of relations between Arab countries and Syria,” Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters in Cairo.

“This is a sovereign decision for each country to make.”