UAE reopens Damascus embassy after seven years

DAMASCUS: The United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus Thursday, the latest sign of efforts to bring the Syrian government back into the Arab fold.

The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012, as the repression of nationwide protests demanding regime change was escalating into a devastating war. Nearly seven years later, the Emirati flag was raised again during a ceremony attended by diplomats and journalists.

An acting charge d´affaires has already started working, an Emirati statement said, stressing that the UAE was "keen to put relations back on their normal track". It said that the resumption of ties aimed to "support the sovereignty and independence of Syria" and face "the dangers of regional interferences". Rumours of the Emirati embassy reopening had circulated in recent days as renovation work was spotted getting under way at the building.

A visit to Damascus by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir earlier this month had been interpreted by some observers as a sign of regional efforts to end Assad´s diplomatic isolation. Syria was suspended from the Arab League in November 2011, as the death toll was escalating and several regional powers bet on Assad´s demise. The conflict has now killed more than 360,000 people.

Assad´s seat at the helm, which he inherited from his father in 2000, appeared to be hanging by a thread until Russia´s 2015 military intervention turned things around. Government forces and allied militia have since steadily regained significant ground. They now firmly control the Damascus region and several key trade routes in the country.

The past few days have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity that looks set to continue until the next summit of the Arab League, due in Tunis in March. "Recent discussions on this issue have not yielded a consensus," Hossam Zaki, the League´s deputy secretary general, told reporters in Cairo on Monday.