UAE foreign minister meets Assad in Syria
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s stressed support for stability and the need to end the war during the visit, which the US State Department said it does not support.
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus today.
Nahyan and Assad discussed relations between the “two brotherly countries.” Nahyan expressed support for “stability efforts” and Assad’s leadership in Syria. For his part, Assad thanked the UAE for supporting the Syrian people. They also spoke about unspecified regional issues, Syria’s official news outlet SANA reported.
The official Emirates News Agency confirmed Nahyan’s visit. During the conversation, he noted the UAE’s support for security, stability and development in Syria and an end to the war, according to the agency.
Many Arab states cut off relations with Syria in 2011 at the start of the civil war and supported rebel forces. Syria was also expelled from the Arab League at the time. Assad’s forces have been widely accused of war crimes throughout the war, which is now in its 10th year.
