Pencilneckal-Assad
Horror of Homs...
, days after his second visit to Washington’s regional partner, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"Our stance against normalization remains unchanged. We will not normalize with the Assad regime, nor will we encourage others," Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department, told news hounds during a press briefing.
Assad visited the UAE for the second time since 2011 on Sunday, where he was received UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who said it was time for Syria to return to the Arab fold.
"We continue to urge anybody engaging with Damascus to consider sincerely and thoroughly how their engagements can help provide for Syrians in need, no matter where they live", Patel added.
The Syrian president first visited the UAE earlier this month in his first visit to an Arab country since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011. Syria was expelled from the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
and largely isolated by its neighbors when the war broke out.
The international community has accused Assad of committing war crimes in rebel-held areas and for brutal repression of opposition in regime-controlled parts of the country. Largely assisted by Russian air attacks, Assad restored control over most of the country after 12 years of war killed half a million people and displaced almost half of the Syrian population.
The devastating February 6 earthquake which tore through parts of
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
and Syria has provided the Syrian regime with an opportunity of normalization within the Arab world, with numerous states rushing to offer aid.
Last month, Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...said a consensus was emerging among Arab states that an end to Syria’s isolation and return to dialogue is needed in order to address the pending humanitarian issues.
The US remains firm in its stance that it will not engage with the Assad regime without any accountability for war-time abuses.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, Washington announced it would grant six months of sanctions relief to allow aid to reach Syria.
