The United States conveyed its reservations about the UAE Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed’s meeting with Bashar al-Assad.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price warned the region’s countries not to forget the “atrocities” that the Assad regime perpetrated on the Syrian people over the last decade.
Speaking at the weekly briefing conference, Spokesperson Ned Price said, “We are concerned by reports of this meeting and the signal it sends.” Price also added, “As we have said before, this administration will not express any support for efforts to normalize or to rehabilitate Bashar al-Assad, who is a brutal dictator.”
The top Emirati diplomat came together with Bashar al-Assad to discuss bilateral ties and business opportunities on Tuesday.
Bin Zayed is the first Emirati official to visit Damascus since the 2011 revolution, which turned into a horrific, multi-front conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions, and destroyed Syria’s infrastructure.
