Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Calls Syrian President, Voices UAE’s Support over Coronavirus

By Staff, Agencies

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan called Syrian President Bashar al-assad via phone and discussed with him the repercussions of the spread of the Coronavirus.

Bin Zayed voiced the UAE’s support of the Syrian people during these extraordinary circumstances, saying that Syria will not remain alone in these critical circumstances.

For his part, al-Assad welcomed the UAE’s initiative and praised the Gulf country’s humanitarian stance in light of the pandemic that is wreaking havoc in the region and the world.

Syria has recorded five cases of COVID-19 so far, but there are concerns about a rapid spread of the respiratory disease in the war-wracked country, where health system and infrastructure have been decimated by years of conflict. 

Friday's phone call was reported to be the first publicized contact between an Arab leader and al-Assad since Syria plunged into foreign-sponsored militancy in 2011. 

The UAE has long been a supporter of anti-Damascus terrorists fighting to topple the Syrian government.

Currently, however, alliances shifted as the war in Syria winds down with the army capturing most of the territory that was once lost to Takfiri elements.