Zelenskiy in Syria to meet President Sharaa, sources say

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has made his first visit to Syria to hold a ⁠meeting with his counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa, two Syrian sources told Reuters on Sunday.

The talks were ⁠linked to defence in light of the ⁠regional war, one of the sources, ⁠a government adviser, ⁠said.

Earlier, Ukraine agreed to cooperate on defence with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy travelled to both countries amid escalating tensions in the region.

Qatar's ⁠defence ministry said that Doha and Kyiv have signed a defense cooperation agreement which includes the exchange of expertise in countering missiles and unmanned aerial systems.

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Zelenskiy had earlier been to the UAE and met President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the two countries agreed to cooperate in the fields of security and defence.

"Our teams will finalise the details," Zelenskiy said ⁠on the Telegram app with reference to the UAE discussions.

Ukraine, which now has years of experience shooting down Russian drones and missiles, was close to clinching several security agreements to ⁠counter Iranian attacks, its foreign minister Andrii Sybiha had told Reuters.