UAE FM: Syria’s return to Arab fold ‘inevitable’

UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said yesterday that Syria’s return to the Arab fold is “inevitable”.

“The Caesar Act is the biggest challenge facing joint work with Syria,” the Emirati minister said in reference to a US law which imposes sanctions on anyone dealing with the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

He added that Syria’s return to the Arab League is in the interest of Syria and other countries in the region.

This came during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The latter welcomed the normalisation of relations between Arab countries and Israel, expressing his country’s readiness to help solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Lavrov’s talks with the UAE foreign minister focused on developments in the Gulf region and maintaining its stability and security. Trade between Abu Dhabi and Moscow has reached $3 billion.

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Lavrov is on a four-day official visit to the Gulf region, beginning with the visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), followed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Russia has been the Syrian regime’s major international backer; its entry into the country’s civil war tipped the scales into Assad’s favour and allowed him to regain control of areas his forces had previously lost to opposition forces.