ISTANBUL 

The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates arrived on Tuesday in the Syrian capital Damascus, in the first high-level visit from the Gulf country since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Arab media outlets, including the Jordanian Al-Mamlaka and Emirati Al-Ain TV channels, in addition to the Watan newspaper, known as being close to the Syrian regime, reported that a high-profile Emirati delegation, headed by Abdullah bin Zayed, arrived in Damascus to meet officials of the Syrian regime.

This is the first official visit by a high-level Emirati official to Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in the country in March 2011.