Syrians Divided as Assad Rejoins Arab League.

Syrians on opposite sides of the country's battle lines have different reactions to the normalization of ties between the government of Bashar Assad and Syria's neighbors. In government-held Syria, residents hope the rapprochement will bring more trade and investment and ease the economic crisis. Meanwhile, in the remaining opposition-held areas of the north, Syrians feel increasingly isolated and abandoned. Turkey, which has been a main backer of the armed opposition to Assad, has been holding talks with Damascus for months. And in recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has done an about-face in its stance on the Assad government and is pushing its neighbors to follow suit.