Alwaght- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign minister met Syria President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday in an apparent U-turn on hostile policies of Abu Dhabi that once supported terrorist and militant groups fighting Damascus.
Bin Zayed is the first Emirati official to visit Damascus since the 2011 crisis during which foreign-backed terrorists waged a brutal war against Syrian central government that resulted in death of hundreds of thousands of people, displacement of millions from their homes and destruction of Syria’s infrastructure.
Although the UAE was one of several regional states, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, that backed militants in Syria’s war, with the Syrian government recapturing much of the country, the Persian Guf Arab state has made openings towards al-Assad’s government.
The two discussed “exploring new horizons” to bolster bilateral ties and commercial partnerships at Tuesday’s meeting, according to a Syrian presidency statement. Bin Zayed headed a senior delegation of Emirati officials, it added.
“Sheikh Abdullah stressed the UAE’s support for efforts for stability in Syria … expressing his confidence that Syria, under the leadership of President Al-Assad, and the efforts of its people are able to overcome the challenges caused by the war,” the statement read. Al-Assad praised the UAE for its “correct and objective positions” towards Syria.
Last month, the Emirati economy ministry said it had agreed with its Syrian counterpart to enhance trade and economic cooperation, after the economy ministers of both countries met on the sidelines at Dubai Expo 2020.
Ties between the two countries have slowly rekindled since the US-allied UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus in late 2018. In March 2019, bin Zayed said the UAE intended “to ensure that Syria returns to the Arab region”. Abu Dhabi has also called for Syria to be readmitted to the Arab League.
Last month, President al-Assad held a phone call with Jordan’s King Abdullah II – a key US ally. The conversation was preceded by the full reopening of a main border crossing between the two countries in September.
The move to normalize regional ties with Damascus has encountered resistance and opposition from the US and other Western countries. Ned Price, the State Department Spokesperson, addressed the meeting between President Assad and Bin Zayed and said, “We are concerned by reports of this meeting and the signal it sends.” “As we’ve said before, this administration will not express any support for efforts to normalize or to rehabilitate Bashar Assad,” he added.
