Syrian President Assad was invited by the UAE to participate in the COP28 climate summit

CNN — (CNN) — The United Arab Emirates has invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit in Dubai on Nov. 30.

The UAE embassy in Damascus tweeted on Sunday that Assad had received an invitation from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE president and ruler of Abu Dhabi, to attend COP28.

Syrian state news agency SANA also confirmed the invitation on Monday.

If Assad attends, it would be his first global summit since the start of the country’s brutal civil war in 2011 and could lead to diplomatic tensions in a country that continues to impose sanctions on his regime.

The UN climate summit has already drawn controversy over the appointment of Sultan Jaber, chief executive of the state-owned ADNOC, one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, as its chair.

A COP28 spokesperson told Reuters in a statement this week: “COP28 is committed to an inclusive COP process that produces transformational solutions. This can only happen when we are all in the room.”

In March, Assad visited the UAE at an official invitation, his first visit since the start of Syria’s civil war. This is also his first visit to an Arab country since 2011.

Earlier this month, Arab states agreed to readmit Syria to the Arab League despite repeated U.S. opposition to ending the more than decade-long isolated regime responsible for the death and displacement of more than 300,000 civilians. The country’s civil war.

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