Syria's Assad 'creates a problem but presents himself as a solution,' analyst says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been shunned internationally for over a decade, due to the brutal repression of anti-government protesters and the use of chemical weapons by his regime during the country's civil war. Despite numerous reported atrocities, the leader has clung onto power with the sole support of two major powers: Iran and Russia. Now though, he's slowly being welcomed back into the diplomatic fold by returning as a member of the Arab League, where he's received the red-carpet treatment for a summit in Saudi Arabia. He's also been invited to this year's COP28 climate summit in Abu Dhabi.