Syria's Assad says 'understanding' reached with Arab states

BEIRUT (AP) — President Bashar Assad has told a little-known Kuwaiti newspaper that Syria has reached a "major understanding" with other Arab states after years of hostility over the country's civil war.

The interview in the Al-Shahed newspaper, published Wednesday, was Assad's first with a Gulf newspaper since the war began in 2011.

He does not name the Arab countries, but says Arab and Western delegations have begun visiting Syria to prepare for the reopening of diplomatic and other missions.

Syria's membership in the 22-member Arab League was suspended in the early days of the war, and Arab countries later imposed economic sanctions.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have supported opposition groups fighting to overthrow Assad.