Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed recent developments in the Middle East during the former’s “special visit” to the Emirates.
The meeting, held on Sunday, came hours after the Gulf Cooperation Council summit was held in Kuwait, following the rebels’ control of Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city.
The Emirati official said that during the meeting, the two princes reviewed the latest regional and international developments, with a special focus on the Middle East region. Wham news agency.
The statement added that they “stressed the need for concerted efforts to maintain regional stability and prevent the region from sliding into new crises that may threaten its security.”
The latest shock attack by Syrian rebels has been described as an attempt to redraw the regional map in line with US interest in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose country has been at war since he launched a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2013. 2011 – Conflict that attracted foreign powers and led to 500 thousand people killed.
Meanwhile, Mohammed bin Salman’s visit, the first since 2021 according to Emirati media, follows his meeting with the ruler of the Emirates in the eastern Saudi city of Dammam earlier this year following rumors indicating a rift between the two countries.
The 63-year-old UAE president was seen as a mentor to the 39-year-old Saudi Crown Prince who is aggressively reshaping his country’s oil-dependent economy.
It should be noted that the Gulf states were initially major supporters of the Syrian opposition groups fighting the government of President Assad since the Arab Spring protests of 2011.
But they later reversed course, with the UAE restoring diplomatic relations in 2018.
Riyadh restored its relations with Damascus last year after inviting Assad to attend the Arab League meeting in Jeddah, ending Syria’s regional isolation.