Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan appealed for unity against Israel at the 162nd meeting of the Arab League Council of Ministers gathered in Cairo on Tuesday, while blasting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Gaza conflict. It was the first time in more than a decade that Turkey was invited to join the summit, after being excluded largely over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and meddling elsewhere in the Middle East — notably in Syria, where it sought unsuccessfully to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Detente with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and lastly Egypt, which culminated in last week’s visit to Ankara by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ended Turkey’s isolation and paved the way for Fidan’s presence.

It was widely assumed that Damascus had also greenlighted Turkey’s participation in the Arab League gathering. This, in turn, was interpreted as progress in Turkey’s efforts to woo Assad back, who is far less enthusiastic about mending fences. 

However, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his delegation walked out of the meeting room when Fidan took the floor, ostensibly in protest of Turkey’s continued occupation of vast swathes of northern Syria. Assad has repeatedly called for the troops to be withdrawn.