Syria: Emirati Foreign Minister visits the country

The head of the Emirati diplomacy, Abdallah ben Zayed, received in Damascus by Bashar al-Assad, this Tuesday, November 9.

via REUTERS - SANA

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The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Abdallah ben Zayed al-Nahyane, was received at the head of a delegation in Damascus, this Tuesday, November 9, by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A first since the start of the war in Syria in 2011.

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From our correspondent in Beirut,

The visit of the head of the Emirati diplomacy to Damascus had not been announced beforehand.

It confirms an acceleration in the normalization of relations between Syria and Arab countries which had actively supported the rebellion.

Normalization began in 2018 with

, and confirmed with phone calls between Bashar al-Assad and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in March, then the King of Jordan in October. .

"Bilateral relations between the two fraternal countries"

The Emirati Minister and the Syrian Head of State spoke of " 

 ", reports the official Sana agency.

Abdallah Ben Zayed's visit to Damascus may seem inconsistent with UAE foreign policy.

On the one hand, Abu Dhabi is recalling its ambassador to Beirut to denounce what he calls Iran's stranglehold on Lebanon.

At the same time, its Minister of Foreign Affairs went to Syria, a country allied with Tehran, and which, moreover, welcomed contingents of Iranian Revolutionary Guards on its territory.

But other calculations are taken into account in the Abu Dhabi approach.

For the Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia and the Emirates in the lead, the priority is to counter the influence of Turkey, with whom they are competing for the leadership of the Sunni world.

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• Syria

• United Arab Emirates