Al-Assad’s visits to the UAE reinforces Abu Dhabi’s support for tyranny

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited the UAE two days ago, consolidating Abu Dhabi’s support for tyranny and repressive regimes and proving Abu Dhabi’s alignment and support of counter-revolution once again.

Observers said that the visit, which coincided with the revolutions’ anniversary, constitutes a disregard for the Syrian people and the hundreds of thousands of victims they sacrificed. It is a clear position from Abu Dhabi that chooses to stand by an oppressive regime and commit heinous crimes against its people.

The visit also constituted a betrayal of the Syrian opposition’s efforts, which was active after the Ukraine war, to occupy the regime’s seat in the Arab League and the United Nations.

This came as part of the opposition’s attempt to take advantage of the international atmosphere against Russia and its pawns on the international scene, led by the Assad regime, which was among the few that publicly supported Russia’s war in Ukraine and expressed its willingness to send volunteers to fight alongside it there.

The coincidence of this visit with the West’s attempts to strangle Russia and its followers politically and economically in connection with the Ukraine war suggests an uncharacteristic boldness in the UAE.

It took the step that the United States and most Western countries have always warned of, which requires achieving political progress on the Syrian track before any move to meet the regime.

Regardless of the nature of this supposed deal, this move by the UAE will only bring it harm and embarrassment at the political level, unless it enters the door of political intrigue familiar in the UAE’s foreign policies during the past years, especially with the hidden tension, it is witnessing with Saudi Arabia in their relationship with the United States.

This was demonstrated by the two countries’ rejection of a US request to increase their oil production against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine due to their dissatisfaction with the “soft” US positions regarding the missile and drone attacks against the UAE and Saudi Arabia by the Houthis in Yemen.

Hence, the United States, which is currently preoccupied with confronting Russia in Ukraine, although it has publicly expressed its dissatisfaction with Assad’s visit, may not be in a hurry to open disputed files with the UAE, but this may be part of the account that will be decided later between the two parties.

Al-Assad’s invitation to visit the UAE comes within the framework of a continuous Emirati effort to re-float the Assad regime in the Arab world. The choice of this timing for a visit may be an exploitation of the international preoccupation with the Ukraine crisis.

However, the timing may not be smart enough amid international anger against Russia and its tools in the international arena, foremost of which is the Assad regime.

Al-Assad’s visit to the UAE drew reprehensible reactions among the Syrian opposition and international powers, who considered it an attempt to legitimize a war criminal who killed thousands of his people.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition said that the UAE’s reception of “war criminal Bashar al-Assad is a dangerous precedent and a departure from the decisions of the Arab League, a violation of international sanctions, a reward for his crimes, and a disregard for the blood of a million Syrian martyrs.”

The coalition indicated, in a statement, that the visit coincides with Syrian revolution, “which increases the lack of appreciation of the will of the Syrian people and their precious sacrifices over the past eleven years in their struggle with the criminal regime and its sponsors.”

The coalition called on the UAE to “correct its position and abide by the Arab League and international position in isolating this criminal regime.”

It considered that “accepting the criminal is accepting his crime. This regime displaced half of this Syrian people, destroyed their country, and opened the borders to all terrorist militias, especially Iran’s militias, whose fire reached the Emirates itself.”

It pointed out that the UAE supported the Syrian people “and had honourable positions in international forums in supporting it and condemning the criminal regime. It is required to return to its original positions.”