UAE foreign minister meets Assad, most senior Emirati visit to Syria since war began

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, in Damascus Syria, in this handout released by Syrian Presidency on November 9, 2021. Syrian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

BEIRUT (Reuters) -The United Arab Emirates foreign minister met President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, a sign of improving ties between Assad and a U.S.-allied Arab state that once supported rebels trying to overthrow him.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed is the most senior Emirati dignitary to visit Syria in the decade since the eruption of a civil war in which several Arab states backed mainly Sunni Muslim insurgents against Assad.