Syria

Syrian Dissident Blasts Persian Gulf Arab States for Betrayal

A prominent Syrian dissident figure lashed out at the Persian Gulf Arab countries for betraying the opposition front after the Syrian army’s great victories.

“As many people foresaw, the [Persian] Gulf Arab states threw us out like a piece of dirty tissue paper,” he was quoted by the Arabic-language al-Akhbar newspaper as saying on Saturday.

According to the Lebanese paper, the dissident figure said that the Persian Gulf Arab countries have emphasized that they no more need the opposition after their failure to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad in the war.

“When we received news about the UAE’s willingness to reopen its embassy in Damascus, I immediately went to the mediators between us and the UAE, but they did not give me a clear response,” the dissident said.

The UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus late in December after a seven-year break, making it the first Arab embassy to start working again in Syria after closing as a result of the war.

The UAE closed its embassy soon after the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, and Abu Dhabi was long considered a sponsor of the many militant groups that poured into the Arab country from across the region and beyond to fight to bring down the government of President Assad.

Back to top button