President Bashar al-Assad ceded to calls for more aid access to Syria’s northwest with prodding from the United Arab Emirates, sources say, a diplomatic win for the Gulf state which has rebuilt ties with Damascus despite US disapproval….
The UAE’s role in persuading Assad, described by four sources in the region, suggests it has started to carve out a degree of sway in Damascus, even if Russia and Shi’ite Iran remain the dominant foreign players there….
The senior source familiar with Syrian government thinking said that the UAE role in persuading Assad should not be underestimated.
A Syrian source close to the Gulf said the UAE had used its “soft power” on Assad and a Turkish official also said the UAE had played a part in persuading him….
A Russian diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia would have blocked a resolution authorizing expanded aid access from Turkey.However, a Western diplomat, a UN official and a Syrian source with knowledge of discussions said Russia had signaled to Assad that it would not be in a position to veto such a resolution given international pressure on getting aid in….
A Gulf source said the disaster had created “earthquake diplomacy” that was pushing forward openness towards Damascus and cooperation on the humanitarian crisis.“Assad spent the last 11 to 12 years looking towards Moscow and Tehran, and now he is back reaching out to his Arab neighbors,” the source said.
Washington has voiced opposition to any moves towards rehabilitating or normalizing ties with Assad, citing his government’s brutality during the conflict and the need to see progress towards a political solution. US sanctions are a big complication for countries seeking to expand commercial ties.
Saudi Arabia, which remains at odds with Assad, has said consensus was building in the Arab world that isolating Syria was not working and that dialog with Damascus was needed at some point to at least address humanitarian issues.The UAE official said there was an “urgent need to strengthen the Arab role in Syria.”