Oman’s Foreign Minister Meets Bashar Al-Assad during Rare Syria Visit

By Staff, Agencies

Oman’s Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah met Sunday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Muscat said, in the Gulf official’s second visit to the war-torn country since the conflict broke out in 2011.

Al-assad met with bin Abdullah to discuss bilateral relations and regional security, the sultanate’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added that bin Abdullah also met with his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Moallem.

Oman is one of the few Arab states to have maintained ties with Damascus over the past eight years of crisis.

Oman’s Sultan Qaboos adheres to a strict policy of non-interference in regional affairs, maintaining relations with rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran — a key backer of Assad.

Bin Abdullah visited Damascus in 2015, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported at the time, to discuss ways to “resolve the crisis in Syria.”

During a visit to Oman last year, al-Moallem praised Muscat for taking “supportive positions toward Syria at various Arab and international forums,” the state-run Oman News Agency reported.