Syria: Abu Dhabi takes lead opening Damascus embassy

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation reopened its embassy in Damascus on 27 December, some seven years after it was shuttered. The mission is headed by chargé d’affaires Abdul Hakim Naimi. The move has been seen as an attempt to counter the influence of Iran and Turkey in Syria; it has been widely noted that the announcement came at a time when President Bashir Al-Assad appears to have gained the initiative in the civil war.