Syrian Leader Al-Sharaa Visits UAE

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, marking his second visit to a Gulf Arab state since becoming Syria’s de facto ruler in December, following the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s government. His first visit was to Saudi Arabia in February.

Al-Sharaa met in Abu Dhabi with the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
According to Syrian state media outlet SANA, the two leaders discussed matters of mutual interest.

The visit comes amid ongoing instability in Syria, including Israeli airstrikes, continued Israeli occupation of Syrian territory, and internal strife, including attempts at reconciliation with the American-backed Kurds in the north of the country.
Late last week, Al-Sharaa postponed the deadline for a committee tasked with reporting on the killings of Alawite civilians on the Syrian coast in March. Videos showing abuse and killings of civilians from that incident are still surfacing on social media.

The UAE has long played a role in Syria’s crisis. It was among the first countries to cut diplomatic ties with Damascus in 2011 and later became the first Arab nation Assad visited in 2022 after nearly a decade of isolation from the Arab world.

While Western governments welcomed Assad’s fall and have made efforts to rebrand Al-Sharaa’s image from his earlier Islamist affiliations, Syria has yet to receive widespread sanctions relief. Just last week, the Trump administration downgraded the status of Syria’s UN mission, stating it does not recognize any governing authority in Damascus—a further indication of the uphill battle Al-Sharaa faces on the international stage.