Bashar al-Assad has been invited by the United Arab Emirates to the COP28 climate meeting that it will be hosting at the end of the year, potentially putting him in the same room with Western leaders who have long opposed and reprimanded him.
The UAE embassy in Damascus tweeted the invitation, which was given by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.
A COP28 representative told Reuters in an email that the organisation is dedicated to an inclusive COP process that yields transformational solutions.
“Only with everyone present in the room can this happen.”
The summit in Dubai in December is anticipated to draw thousands of dignitaries and international leaders.
After isolating Assad for more than ten years over his harsh suppression of street uprisings that descended into a bloody civil war, fellow Arab states are now thawing to Syria again.
After the catastrophic earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey on February 6, bilateral diplomatic contacts intensified. Then, the Arab League re-accepted Syria last week, and Saudi Arabia invited Assad to the League conference on Friday in Jeddah.
The UAE and other Arab nations have actively attempted to re-establish ties with Damascus, but the United States is sceptical and has stated that it does not see the benefits of Assad being re-admitted to the Arab League.
