The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is preparing to reopen its embassy in Damascus, a first for a Gulf country. “The Emirati embassy in the Syrian capital is being renovated. It could reopen by next March,” a well informed source in Arab diplomatic circles told L'Orient-Le Jour (OLJ).
In 2012, the embassy was attacked before being closed by the UAE, which accused the Syrian regime of being behind the attack. But for the past month, several media outlets close to the Syrian regime have announced negotiations between Damascus and Abu Dhabi regarding the reopening. Alexander Efimov, the former head of the Russian diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi and the new Russian ambassador to Syria, recently appointed by President Vladimir Putin, confirmed the news this week in an interview with the Russian site RTonline.
According to the anonymous diplomatic source: "The Russians have asked the Arab countries, as well as France, to make a gesture towards the Syrian regime. In return, those who do will be able to play a role in the political processes resulting from the numerous summits and meetings about Syria, such as Astana, Sochi, Ankara and Geneva."
The source also said that being able to participate in Syria’s reconstruction after more than seven years of war is another strong incentive. The military conflict appears to be over, giving way to an economic and diplomatic battle that will be more difficult for the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian allies to win. They will probably need support from European and Arab states to pay for the reconstruction. The French may have an interest, then, in restoring diplomatic relations with Syria to enable French companies to be involved. "France said it cannot make such a comeback before the Arabs. That's why it asked the Emiratis to pave the way,” the source said.
Mamlouk in KSA and Egypt
The UAE’s change of policy became evident when Anwar Gargash, the Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said in the press that it was a mistake to drive Syria out of the Arab League. "It meant we had no political power, no open channel. We could not present an Arab vision of how the Syrian issue should be resolved,” he told the Emirati newspaper The National in June.
Several communication channels have since been opened between Syria and some Arab countries. "Ali Mamlouk, head of the Syrian National Security, and one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's most trusted men, visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia four months ago,” the anonymous source revealed to OLJ.
According to the website Arabi 21, linked to Qatar and critical of the UAE, Ali Mamlouk also met Mohammad al-Shamsi, chief of the Emirati Intelligence. "At this meeting, both sides discussed ways to restore diplomatic relations," the site says, quoting anonymous sources.
In this context, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited Damascus last week. It was the first visit of an Arab head of state since the start of the war. The trip seems to be part of the diplomatic rapprochement between Damascus and some Arab governments. The Sudanese leader reportedly delivered a message on behalf of the Emirati and Saudi leaders to Bashar al-Assad, according to the diplomatic source. During the meeting, the Syrian president, an ally of Iran, stressed that his country intends to maintain its "Arab identity" despite tensions caused by the Syrian conflict with some countries like Saudi Arabia. Syria was suspended from the Arab League in November 2011, a few months after the start of the uprising. With the exception of Oman, the Gulf monarchies all closed their diplomatic missions in Damascus.
Recent developments show that the Gulf countries are in fact trying to get closer to the Syrian regime. Last month, President Assad told a Kuwaiti newspaper that Syria had reached "major agreements" with Arab states after years of hostility. "An Emirati emissary should officially be sent to Damascus soon,” OLJ’s anonymous diplomatic source added.
Why now ?
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and Kuwait also believe that boycotting the Syrian regime has been counterproductive and that it is now necessary to engage with Syria to counterbalance the growing power of Iran and Turkey. the Arab role in the search for a political solution has been severely limited by Syria’s ousting from the Arab League. As a result, Iran, Turkey and other countries, such as Russia, were able to play an increasingly important role in Syria.
"The UAE believes that the Syrian crisis is first and foremost an Arab crisis, an Arab problem and an Arab disaster. It is not a Russian, Iranian or American issue. We never see Arabs in all these meetings that are held with Turkish, Iranian, Russian or other participants. The UAE wants to let Arabs be part of the Syrian crisis outcome. The UAE will start and other countries will follow,” an anonymous diplomat based in Lebanon told OLJ.
With the launch of a constitutional and reconstruction process in Syria, the Emiratis believe that their presence in Syria will be more effective in influencing what happens next, including the political process, which is why they decided to make this move now. This rapprochement aims first to contain the Iranian influence, a mindset similar to that of Washington.
"We agree that the Syrian crisis must be resolved in a political way: there will be a new constitution and then elections. Who will vote? Shouldn’t people go back to vote? The UAE will, therefore, want to get involved in rebuilding Syria so that the millions of displaced Syrians can return home. It is also the role of the Arabs to help the Syrian people,” the diplomat said. "It is no longer acceptable to keep Arabs out of solving problems that concern them.”
(This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 21rst of December 2018)
