The president United Arab Emirates said today syros his colleague that it was time for Damascus, which had remained diplomatically isolated for years, to bring back the Arab family, during the meeting they had in Abu Dhabi.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is making an official visit to the Emirates, his second visit to a Gulf country since the deadly earthquake that hit his country, as many Arab states re-establish ties with Damascus.

Assad was “accompanied by his wife, Asma,” according to the official Emirates news agency WAM. This is Asma Assad’s first official visit abroad since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

“Syria has been away from its brothers for too long and the time has come to reunite with them and with the Arab environment,” said Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the Emirates.

Assad has been diplomatically isolated since the 2011 popular uprising against him that sparked a civil war. After the earthquake in Syria, the Arab countries expanded contacts with it and sent aid to Damascus.

Earlier today, the Emirates President said he had “talks about strengthening bilateral relations” with Assad, mainly about ways to “strengthen cooperation to accelerate stability and progress in Syria and the region.”

“Kinship” relationships

“The position of the Emirates is clear on the need to return Syria to the Arab family,” said Anwar Gargas, adviser to the President of the Emirates. “This was confirmed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed during today’s meeting,” he added on Twitter.

During a meeting with the President of the Emirates, Assad welcomed the country’s role in strengthening relations between the Arab states, assessing that they should be “fraternal”, the Syrian president said in a statement.

The Syrian president, whose country was expelled from the Arab League at the end of 2011, visited the Sultanate of Oman on February 20 for the first time since the start of the war. A low-key but important intermediary in the diplomatic arena, Oman is one of the few Arab countries and the only one in the Persian Gulf that maintains official diplomatic relations with Damascus.

At the end of 2018, the Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus. In March 2022, Assad made his first visit to an Arab country, to Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi also led the post-earthquake relief effort in Syria, which helped bring the country out of isolation. The Emirates also pledged more than $100 billion in aid, sent a rescue team and provided thousands of tons of humanitarian supplies.

Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Damascus in February, becoming the first senior Gulf official to visit since the earthquake. This was his second trip to Syria this year.

For his part, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in February assessed the need for a new approach to Syria, which would include talks with Damascus to resolve humanitarian crises.

This week, Assad traveled to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been trying to restore Damascus’ relations with Arab countries for years.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}