UAE Reopens Embassy in Damascus

The UAE reopens its embassy in Damascus. (Reuters)
The UAE reopens its embassy in Damascus. (Reuters)
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UAE Reopens Embassy in Damascus

The UAE reopens its embassy in Damascus. (Reuters)
The UAE reopens its embassy in Damascus. (Reuters)

The United Arab Emirates reopened on Thursday its embassy in Damascus, six years after closing it with the eruption of the country’s conflict.

The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012, as the repression of nationwide protests demanding regime change was escalating into a devastating war.

An acting charge d'affaires has already started working, an Emirati statement said, stressing that the UAE was "keen to put relations back on their normal track".

It said that the resumption of ties aimed to "support the sovereignty and independence of Syria" and face "the dangers of regional interferences".

The past few days have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity that looks set to continue until the next summit of the Arab League, due in Tunis in March.

“Recent discussions on this issue have not yielded a consensus," Hossam Zaki, the League's deputy secretary general, told reporters in Cairo on Monday.

"This does not rule out a possible change of the Arab position in the future," he added.

UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash stated later that Syria’s return to the Arab League “need Arab consensus.”

Moreover, he stressed that “opening channels of contact with Damascus will not leave it exposed to Iranian meddling.”

“All parties are convinced of the need for a political solution to the Syrian crisis,” he added.



UK Police Arrest Two Men over Alleged Hezbollah Links

A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. AP Photo/Emrah Gurel
A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. AP Photo/Emrah Gurel
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UK Police Arrest Two Men over Alleged Hezbollah Links

A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. AP Photo/Emrah Gurel
A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. AP Photo/Emrah Gurel

British counter-terrorism police said on Thursday they had arrested two men accused of being linked to the banned group Hezbollah, saying their investigation involved alleged activity both overseas and in Britain.

Detectives from London's Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) arrested a 39-year-old man in north London on suspicion of being a member of a proscribed group, preparing acts of terrorism and being involved in funding for the purposed of terrorism, Reuters said.

A second man, 35, was arrested in west London on suspicion of being a member of a banned organization.

"Our investigation remains ongoing, but I hope that these arrests show we will take robust action against anyone here whom we suspect as being involved in terrorist activity regardless of whether their activity is focused here in the UK or elsewhere," said commander Dominic Murphy, head of the CTC.

Police said the investigation related to the Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah which Britain outlawed in 2019 when it classified it as a terrorist group. There was no immediate threat to the public, they said.

The two men were released on police bail until mid-July.