In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, meets with Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018.

:: Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday became the first Arab League leader to visit Syria since civil war erupted there nearly eight years ago.

Al-Bashir was greeted at the Damascus airport by Syrian President Bashar Assad before they both headed to the presidential palace, where they held talks on bilateral relations and the latest developments in Syria and the region, according to the state-run news agency.

Syria was expelled from the 22-member Arab League soon after war broke out in 2011. Arab countries have sanctioned Damascus and condemned Assad for using overwhelming military force and failing to negotiate with the opposition.

The Syrian state news agency SANA quoted the Sudanese president as saying during the meeting with Assad that he hopes Syria will recover its important role in the region as soon as possible. He also affirmed Sudan’s readiness to provide all that it can to support Syria’s territorial integrity.

SANA said Assad thanked al-Bashir for his visit, asserting that it will give strong momentum for restoring relations between the two countries “to the way it was before the war on Syria.”

Photographs transmitted by SANA showed the two leaders shaking hands at the airport in front of a Russian plane that appears to have brought al-Bashir to Syria. Russia, a key ally of Assad, maintains an airbase southeast of the Syrian city of Latakia.

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, meets with Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir in Damascus, Syria.