According to the report by Al-Ain media, Mekdad discussed several issues, such as the importance of Syria's ties to the Gulf. He also discussed “some of the developments that concern Syria, including the recent Israeli strikes and other regional developments that were not devoid of renewing the firm position on the Palestinian issue.”
Damascus wants to improve ties with the UAE, for instance. In such a development, Syria recently returned to the Arab League last year. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have done outreach to Syria to try to reconcile and bring it back into the Arab fold after a decade of distance due to the civil war in Syria.
Expanding regional ties
The Syrian diplomat discussed strengthening ties between Arab countries and cooperation. There were few specifics in this discussion. “He said that he met with the UAE Minister of State, Khalifa Shaheen Al-Marar, and the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Sameh Shukri, Lebanon, Abdullah Bouhabib, and Tunisia, Nabil Ammar, in a meeting to discuss bilateral relations, ways to strengthen them, and developments in the situation on the regional and international arenas,” the report noted.
Syria’s regime opposes Western sanctions on Damascus. “Regarding the Israeli strikes in Lebanon and Syria, Al-Mekdad called for the necessity of ‘not expanding the war’ in Gaza, noting that this demand constitutes a ‘global desire." READ MORE
