After 12 years, Syria returned to the Arab League, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres and many countries around the world welcomed and congratulated this progress. The United States, which has long interfered in the Syrian crisis and Middle East affairs, has sung the opposite tune. Some Syrian experts believe that the U.S. attitude is to be expected, given that the United States has pursued a hostile policy toward Syria for the past 12 years. The current warming of relations between Middle Eastern countries is a reminder that times have indeed changed.