DAMASCUS/DUBAI--The United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus on Thursday, marking a diplomatic boost for President Bashar al-Assad from a U.S.-allied Arab state that once backed rebels fighting him.
The UAE said the move aimed to normalise ties and to curb risks of regional interference in "Arab, Syrian affairs" - an apparent reference to non-Arab Iran, whose support for Assad has been critical to his war effort.
"The UAE decision ... came after a conviction that the next stage requires the Arab presence and communication in the Syrian file," tweeted Anwar Gargash, the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs.
The reopening of the embassy is a step towards Syria's rehabilitation by its Arab peers. Its membership in the Arab League was suspended seven years ago. Gargash told Al Arabiya TV that its readmission would require Arab consensus.
The UAE flag was raised at the embassy, shut since the early months of Syria's conflict nearly eight years ago. The UAE Foreign Ministry said its charge d'affaires assumed his duties on Thursday.
Robert Ford, who was serving as the U.S. ambassador to Syria when the uprising against Assad erupted in 2011, said the UAE embassy re-opening indicated that the Sunni Muslim Gulf monarchy seeks to re-exert influence in Syria to blunt that of its Shiite-led foe, Iran. “I think they are hoping that over time that by financial and diplomatic re-engagement with Damascus, they can reduce Iranian influence,” said Ford, now a fellow with the Middle East Institute think tank who also teaches at Yale University.
Ford noted that the UAE has a “vibrant private sector” that is far better resourced than Iran to participate in the massive reconstruction effort that Syria requires.
