For the first time in many years, Bashar Assad visited the Arab country

Syrian President Bashar Assad visited the united Arab emirates.

This was his first trip to any Arab state during the civil war in Syria since 2011. Over 11 years, Assad rarely went beyond Syria, mainly visiting the allies in Iran and Russia.

According to the office of Bashar al-Assad, in the capital of the UAE Abu Dhabi, Syrian president met with the actual ruler of the country, the crown Prince Muhammad ibn Zaid al-Nahayan. Earlier, his negotiations with the ruler of Dubai were held.

At the meetings, the prospects of bilateral cooperation were affected, in particular, in the field of economics, investment and trade. The WAM news agency reported that the parties discussed the "fraternal relations" of the two countries.

The Associated Presse calls Bashar al -Assad’s visit to the OAE most obvious signal over the years that the Arab world is ready to restore contacts with the Syrian leadership, although from the beginning of the internal armed conflict in Syria more than 10 years ago the country was expelled from the League of Arab states. Basically, the league countries, along with Western politicians, condemned Assad for the rigid suppression of protests that had flashed in Syria and at the initial stage of the conflict supported the forces, opposition Damascus.

The current Assad’s trip to the UAE took place against the backdrop of the Russian armed invasion of Ukraine, which Damascus supported, condemning the West for “provoking Russia to these actions.

The US Presidential Administration in recent days has unsuccessfully tried to organize telephone conversations between Joe Bayden and the actual leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates several times to discuss the international support of Ukraine. However, the hereditary princes of these states rejected requests. Moreover, they began to more actively criticize the American policy in the region.

The representative of the US Department of State, Pred Preda, when he was asked about the visit of the Syrian president to the UAE, said that in Washington they were “deeply disappointed and concerned about this apparent attempt to legitimize Bashar al -Assad, who remains responsible for the countless deaths and suffering of citizens of his country.”