Alexander Cornwell
MANAMA (Reuters) – Syria is not out of the woods yet and extremism and terrorism remain a major problem, the United Arab Emirates presidential diplomatic adviser said on Sunday, adding that he did not know if Bashar al-Assad was in Syria .
Asked whether Assad was in the UAE, Anwar Gargash told reporters on the sidelines of a security dialogue in Manama, Bahrain: “I don’t know.”
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Syrian rebels said on Sunday they had ousted President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive that destroyed a 50-year-old family dynasty, raising new concerns in the war-torn Middle East. concerns about the unstable situation.
Gargash blamed Assad’s downfall on political failure and said he had not previously used the “lifeline” offered to him by several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates.
“There’s basically a major failure now, partly on the political and policy front, because Assad didn’t really take advantage of the kind of lifeline that various Arab countries, including the UAE, threw at him, and he didn’t really use that lifeline. So.
The UAE had hoped to distance Assad from Iran and take a leadership role in the predominantly Sunni Muslim Arab nation after Assad accepted help from Shiites, non-Arab Iran and Russia to crack down on Sunnis. , to help restore his reputation.
Sources told Reuters earlier this month that the United States and the United Arab Emirates have discussed the possibility of lifting sanctions on Assad if he breaks away from Iran and cuts off weapons routes to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
“We are very concerned about chaos. We are very concerned about extremism. We remain concerned about the territorial integrity of Syria,” Gargash said, adding that recent events have created a moment to reach out to Iran and discuss what happens next.
“We don’t know where things are going in Syria. As I mentioned, is this going to be a more sensible group that can truly transcend the painful history of Syria, or are we going to go back to reincarnation?” Militant and terrorist groups have played a role in Important role?
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Elaine Hardcastle)
