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.



Lebanese PM to Visit Damascus ‘Soon’

25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)
25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)
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Lebanese PM to Visit Damascus ‘Soon’

25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)
25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister is to visit Damascus "soon", the information minister said on Tuesday -- the first such visit since opposition factions seized power in Syria last month.

"There will be a visit to Syria soon, headed by Prime Minister (Najib) Mikati," Ziad Makary told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Last week, Mikati's office said he had a phone call with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who invited him to Damascus.