James Jeffrey, the US special envoy to Syria, warned the UAE of the possibility of sanctions if it continued its efforts to normalize relations with the Syrian regime.
Jeffrey said in a press conference held on Friday that the UAE may be subject to sanctions under the newly ratified Caesar’s law in the US Congress. “The UAE knows that the United States strongly opposes Abu Dhabi’s normalization of its relations with the Assad regime,” he said.
Asked about the UAE’s efforts to open its embassy again in Damascus, Jeffrey replied that the UAE was an independent country, and could make these decisions, “But we have made clear to them that this is a very bad idea.”
He added that these steps will not help in implementing the UN Security Council resolutions or in ending the conflict, which is a problem for the entire region.
Jeffrey stressed that any company or person, whether Emirati or otherwise, would be the target of the sanctions if the conditions apply to him with regard to economic activities with the Syrian regime.
The first public contact
Last March, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan made a phone call to the President of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, the first public contact from a Gulf leader since the start of the Syrian crisis nine years ago.
The official news agencies in Syria and the UAE revealed the contact, and that it came to discuss the implications of the spread of the Corona virus.
"I discussed by phone with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad the implications of the spread of the Corona virus, and I assured him of the support of the UAE and its assistance to the brotherly Syrian people in these exceptional circumstances," Mohammed bin Zayed said in a Tweet on Twitter.
I discussed by phone with the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad the repercussions of the spread of the Corona virus, and assured him of the support of the UAE and its assistance to the brotherly Syrian people in these exceptional circumstances .. Human solidarity in times of adversity is above all else, and sisterly Syria will not remain alone in these critical conditions.
- Mohammed bin Zayed (@MohamedBinZayed) March 27, 2020
The UAE was the first Gulf country to reopen its embassy in Damascus at the end of 2018, seven years after it closed in 2011, against the background of the regime's crackdown on protests that turned into an armed revolution.
The Syrian opposition has long accused Abu Dhabi of supporting the Assad regime in secret, supplying it with funds, and embracing a number of its relatives and businessmen close to it.
The US Caesar Act came into effect on Wednesday, with Washington announcing sanctions against 39 people and entities associated with the Assad regime.
The State Department revealed the targeted parties that include President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma, whom they described as the engineers of the suffering of the Syrian people.
"Caesar" is a name used to conceal the true identity of a Syrian soldier who leaked pictures of prisoners who were tortured to death in the prisons of the Assad regime.