UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan visits Syria for the first time since 2011, when a deadly regime crackdown on protests turned into a full-blown civil war
Arab and Western countries generally blamed Assad for the deadly crackdown on protests that erupted in 2011.
The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates has met with Syria’s widely shunned regime leader Bashar al Assad in Damascus. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan's visit on Tuesday is the first by a UAE foreign minister since Syria's conflict began a decade ago and comes as some Arab countries are improving relations with Syria.
During the meeting, the foreign minister "underlined the UAE's keenness on ensuring the security, stability and unity of Syria," according to UAE state media. He also expressed "support for all efforts made to end the Syrian crisis, consolidate stability in the country and meet the aspirations of the Syrian people," the official WAM news agency reported.Syria was expelled from the 22-member Arab League and boycotted by its neighbours since its civil war erupted in 2011.