The United Arab Emirates has reopened its embassy in Damascus, marking a big diplomatic boost for President Bashar al-Assad from a US-allied Arab state that once backed rebels fighting him.
The UAE said the move aimed to normalise ties and to curb risks of regional interference in "Arab, Syrian affairs" - an apparent reference to non-Arab Iran, whose support for Assad has been critical to his war effort.
"The UAE decision ... came after a conviction that the next stage requires the Arab presence and communication in the Syrian file," tweeted Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
The UAE flag was raised at the embassy, shut since the early months of Syria's conflict nearly eight years ago. The UAE Foreign Ministry said its charge d'affaires assumed his duties on Thursday.
The UAE was one of several regional states to back armed groups opposed to Assad, though its role was less prominent than those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Turkey, rebel sources in the region have said.
Emirati support has been associated with groups opposed to Islamist domination of the uprising.
Nearly eight years into the war, Assad has recovered control of most of Syria with support from Russia, Iran, and Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah.
His military advances gathered pace this year with the defeat of the last big rebel enclaves near Damascus and recovery of the southwestern region.
Earlier this month, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir became the first Arab head of state to visit Damascus since the start of the Syrian conflict, flying into Damascus airport.
The border crossing between Syria and Jordan, another US-ally that backed the rebels, was reopened in October. A Syrian passenger flight flew to Tunisia on Thursday for the first time in nearly eight years.
