Emirati official: Our relationship with the Syrian regime is “strong”

An Emirati official described the state’s relations with the Syrian regime as “strong and especial,” praising what he called “the wise leadership of President Bashar al-Assad.”

The Emirati Chargé d’Affairs to Damascus Abdul Hakim Ibrahim Al-Nuaimi, during a reception hosted by the Emirati embassy in Syria on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of its National Day, expressed his hope that “security and stability will prevail throughout Syria”.

Al-Naimi added, in his speech, that “the Syrian-Emirati relations are strong, distinguished and strong based on clear and firm foundations, the basis of which is Arab reunification through a moderate policy.” He expressed his thanks to the Syrian government and the Syrian people for the warm welcome and reception of the Foreign Ministry staff for the support they provide overcoming the difficulties in front of the UAE embassy to implement its duties, with the aim of increasing the depth of relations between the two brotherly countries.

Abu Dhabi has been taking steps toward restoring relations with the Assad regime, despite human and international criticism of the massacres it committed against its people, and the constant demands for its trial of the deaths of nearly half a million Syrians and the displacement of thousands, since the outbreak of the 2011 revolution.

Media reports of unspoken cooperation between the UAE and the Syrian regime have not stopped over the past years, to the extent that the UAE has funded Moscow to recruit volunteers from the Caucasus and many countries of the world to join militias for the fight in Syria, while the UAE hosts many of the figures of the Syrian regime, and business men loyal to the regime, including the mother of the head of the regime, Anisa Makhlouf.

Media close to the Syrian regime also talked earlier about the UAE playing the mediating role between the regime and Saudi Arabia to reach political reconciliation.

For his part, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Syrian regime, Faisal al-Miqdad, spoke during the reception, on “the history of bilateral relations between the two countries”, stressing that “Syria and the UAE share many elements, including Arabism, the depth of blood fusion, belonging and joy for the accomplishments and victories achieved in both countries.”

Al-Miqdad said, “Syria will not forget that the UAE stood by its side in its war on terrorism, and this was expressed by the UAE receiving the Syrians who chose it until the terrorist war on their country ended and we hope they will return to their homeland,” according to his claim.

On December 27, 2018, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the resumption of work at its embassy in Damascus, noting that “this step confirms the UAE’s keenness to restore relations between the two brotherly countries back to its natural path.”

Last year, Abu Dhabi sent two diplomats to Damascus, one of them charge d’affaires, Abdul Hakim al-Nuaimi, to oversee the reopening of the embassy.

The UAE embassy in the center of the Syrian capital, Damascus, witnessed maintenance work last year, in what appeared at the time to be a sign of the approaching opening date of the embassy, ​​which was closed, six years ago, due to the crimes committed by the Syrian regime against civilians, and coincided with the suspension of Damascus’s membership in the Arab League.