Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Friday, March 18.
This is the first time since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011 that the country’s president has paid an official visit to an Arab country. The United States has condemned the meeting, calling it an attempt to normalize relations with a “dictator” and a clear attempt to legitimize the Assad regime. Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, reiterated Washington’s opposition to normalizing relations with Assad. He added that the United States would not lift sanctions on Syria unless progress was made towards a political solution to the conflict.
Mr. Price said: “We call on all countries that want to engage with the Assad regime to stop committing the heinous crimes that the regime has committed against the Syrian people over the past decade, as well as humanitarian aid and security. More countries should consider the regime’s continued efforts to curb access. ”
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Emirati leaders Friday on a surprise visit to the United Arab Emirates, his first trip to an Arab country since launching a brutal crackdown on opponents that plunged the country into civil war 11 years ago https://t.co/6yZxiPaftk
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 18, 2022
Washington also expressed concern in November when the UAE’s foreign minister visited Damascus and met with Assad. Assad has traveled to Iran and Russia alone for the past 11 years during the civil war. The United Arab Emirates cut ties with Syria in 2012, and Mr. Assad’s visit appears to be a sign of normalization of relations between the two countries.
According to the UAE media, Mr. Assad and Mr. Nahyan discussed “brotherly” relations between the two countries. According to media reports, the two leaders discussed security, stability, and peace in the Arab region and the Middle East, the withdrawal of foreign troops from Syria, and the preservation of Syrian sovereignty. The official Syrian news agency also confirmed the meeting and said that the meeting strengthened cooperation between the two countries.
Since the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011, the country’s economic situation has been plagued by the ongoing war, economic sanctions imposed by the Arab world and the West, and delays in Syria’s membership in the Arab League. The United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, in 2018 and is working to bring the country back into the Arab League.
Although the United Arab Emirates was a key supporter of Syria’s expulsion from the Arab League, it called on Syria to rejoin the League last year. The UAE’s top diplomat met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus in November last year and it was the first time since the start of the civil war that a senior Arab official had met with Mr. Assad.
As many as 500,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war and millions more have been displaced or displaced.
