This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA shows the foreign minister for the interim Syrian government Asaad al-Shaibani (L) meeting with Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani in Doha on Jan. 5, 2025. (Credit: AFP Photo/HO/SANA)
Syria's new foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani landed in the United Arab Emirates Monday on his first visit to the country since rebels toppled president Bashar al-Assad last month, official news agency SANA said.
"Shaibani, accompanied by Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and intelligence chief Anas Khattab, has arrived in the United Arab Emirates," SANA reported.
Shaibani also posted a picture of himself on X stepping off a plane, and said he looked forward "to building constructive bilateral relations".
The officials took office after Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus in early December, toppling Assad after more than 13 years of civil war.
Their trip to the UAE comes after they visited its Gulf neighbors Qatar on Sunday and Saudi Arabia last week.
Analysts say the UAE is deeply suspicious of Syria's new leaders, reflecting its distrust for political Islam and fear of outsized Turkish influence in the war-scarred country.
Both Qatar and Turkey, which backed the anti-Assad opposition, reopened their embassies in Damascus in the aftermath of Assad's flight to Moscow.
Turkey has long maintained a working relationship with the HTS rebels, leaving it with a direct line to Damascus.
The UAE, by contrast, had championed restoring ties with Assad in the years before his downfall, a stance that paved the way for his reintegration into the Arab League in 2023.
UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said last month that his government found the Islamist affiliation of Syria's new rulers "quite worrying."
From Qatar, Shaibani calls for sanctions relief
Ministers from Syria's transitional government urged the United States to lift its sanctions on Damascus during their first visit to Qatar since overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad.
In a statement, Qatar's foreign ministry said the Gulf country's premier met with Syria's interim foreign minister, Shaibani, Abu Qasra and Khattab.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani "reiterated the State of Qatar's position in support of Syria's unity, sovereignty and independence," the statement said.
Earlier, a Syrian diplomat and a Qatari official confirmed to AFP that Shaibani had arrived on Sunday morning for meetings in Qatar, the host of the U.S.'s largest military base in the region.
Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad, who was toppled by an 11-day rebel advance that swept through major cities and then the capital Damascus in December.
Following discussions with Qatar's Minister of State, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Shaibani reiterated calls for the lifting of US sanctions on Syria.
The interim foreign minister called the measures a "barrier and an obstacle to the rapid recovery" telling local media that his government "renewed our demand for the United States of America to lift these sanctions".
At the end of December, Qatar also called for the quick removal of sanctions on Syria.
The international community has not rushed to lift economic restrictions on Syria and is instead waiting to see how the new authorities exercise their power.
Shaibani added that Syria would "enjoy very good relations with the region" in contrast to those with the Assad government.
Khulaifi said the new government had presented "a clear roadmap for Syria in the near future and the steps that will be taken by the leadership and political administration in Syria".
The conflict in Syria erupted in 2011 after Assad brutally cracked down on peaceful democracy protests.
It morphed into a multi-pronged war in which Doha was for years a key backer of the armed rebellion.
In a statement on X, Shaibani on Friday said he would visit Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan over the coming days.
"We look forward to these visits contributing to supporting stability, security, economic recovery and building distinguished partnerships," the foreign minister wrote.
Qatar was the second country, after Turkey, to reopen its embassy in the Syrian capital following the overthrow of Assad.