Syrian President Bashar al-Assad traveled to the United Arab Emirates on Friday for his first visit to an Arab country since the start of the conflict in 2011 that ravaged his country.
The Syrian president, banned from the Arab world for a decade, was received by the de facto leader of the Emirates, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed, to discuss “fraternal relations” between the two countries, according to the Emirati official agency Wam.
The two men spoke of “cooperation and coordination between the two brotherly countries” with a view to “contributing to security, stability and peace in the Arab world and in the Middle East”, adds the same source. .
According to Wam, the two leaders also insisted on “the preservation of the territorial integrity of Syria and the withdrawal of foreign forces”, Mohammed bin Zayed describing the country as “an essential pillar of Arab security”.
According to an official Syrian statement, Mohammed bin Zayed stressed that “the position of the Emirates is consistent in its support for the territorial integrity of Syria and its stability.”
“The Crown Prince expressed the concern of the Emirates to strengthen cooperation with Syria to meet the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples,” according to the statement published by the official Syrian news agency Sana and the Syrian presidency on social networks.
Syria had been excluded from the Arab League at the end of 2011, the Arab countries, including those of the Gulf, protesting against the repression carried out by the power of Damascus against pro-democracy demonstrations, triggering a devastating war.
The crackdown on the protests quickly turned into a complex conflict with multiple actors, including several foreign powers and jihadist groups, that left half a million dead and displaced millions.
In February 2012, the Emirates and other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced the withdrawal of their ambassadors from Syria, denouncing the “collective massacre” committed by the Syrian authorities.
– Affirmed diplomacy –
But at the end of 2018, Abu Dhabi, which is increasingly assuming its divergent positions on the diplomatic scene, had reopened its embassy in Damascus, while the question of Syria’s return to the Arab League continues to divide.
The United Arab Emirates, a rich oil country close to the West, mark their difference in the region by recently normalizing their relations with Israel or by displaying their proximity to Russia, in the midst of the Ukrainian crisis.
Another Gulf country, Bahrain, which closed its diplomatic mission in Damascus in March 2012, also announced in 2018 the “continuation” of work at its embassy in Syria, signifying its intention to reopen it.
At the time, Bahrain said it was “anxious to pursue relations” with Syria.
Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan met the Syrian president in Damascus last November during the first visit by a senior official of the Gulf monarchy since the start of the war in Syria in 2011. .
Bashar al-Assad, who ended his visit late Friday, also met there with Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, the other major emirate in the country where he had landed earlier.
This visit by the Syrian president, whose regime now controls two-thirds of Syria, seems to be a further step towards normalizing relations between Damascus and certain Arab countries.
While Syria’s suspension from the Arab League no longer seems to be unanimous, another influential Gulf country, Qatar, still opposes it.
Last month, Doha even hosted leaders of Syrian opposition groups, determined to try to unite against President Bashar al-Assad despite their divisions.
Besides the diplomatic front, the Syrian authorities are also seeking to revive ties with regional neighbors for the economic reconstruction of the war-torn country.