Bashar al-Assad's visit to the United Arab Emirates, a first since 2011
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad traveled to Abu Dhabi on Friday March 18 to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.
AFP - HASSAN AL MENHALI
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Are we heading towards a possible normalization of relations between the Syrian regime and the Arab countries?
In any case, the United Arab Emirates received President Bashar al-Assad on Friday.
A first since 2011 and the start of the war in Syria when the Arab League had excluded Damascus to protest against the bloody repression of pro-democracy demonstrations.
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Since 2018, the
United Arab Emirates
has reopened its embassy in Damascus and last November its
foreign minister
met
Bashar al-Assad
in Damascus.
The visit this Friday by the Syrian president to Abu Dhabi seems to be a further step towards warming between Syria and certain Arab countries.
In the official photo, Bashar al-Assad and Mohammed ben Zayed, show wide smiles.
“
Syria is a fundamental pillar of Arab security, and the United Arab Emirates is keen to strengthen cooperation with it in order to meet the aspirations of our two brotherly peoples
,” said the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi after of the meeting with his visitor.
Washington "deeply disappointed and disturbed" by this visit
The Syrian president also met the leader of Dubai, although since the start of the war in Syria, Bashar al-Assad has hardly left his country.
His few trips have taken him only to Russia and Iran.
In the United States, the Biden administration said it was "
deeply disappointed and troubled
" by the decision to receive the Syrian president, while the Emiratis are longtime allies of
Washington
.
This is an "
apparent attempt to legitimize Bashar al-Assad
", says the State Department, which calls on any state which "
would consider normalizing relations with the Syrian regime to reflect on the atrocities committed against its civilian population
" .
.
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Bashar al-Assad
Syria
United Arab Emirates
Diplomacy