Syria's Assad visits Oman after quake, in first since war

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Oman, his first official trip to the Persian Gulf country in more than a decade of civil war at home, the Omani foreign ministry said.

The one-day trip to meet with Sultan Haitham bin Tareq came two weeks after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, killing more than 44,000 people across both countries.

The February 6 quake sparked Arab outreach to the internationally-isolated Assad government, which was expelled from the Arab League after war broke out in 2011.

Sultan Haitham and Assad "held official talks" at the royal palace in Muscat, Oman's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Omani ruler "extended anew his condolences and sincere sympathy to.... the president and to the brotherly Syrian people for the victims of the devastating earthquake", it added.

The two leaders discussed regional issues and bilateral ties before holding a "private meeting", the statement said without elaborating.

Unlike other Persian Gulf states, Oman never severed diplomatic ties with Damascus.

In Muscat, Assad praised Oman's "balanced policies" over the years, the Syrian presidency said in a statement.

"The region is now more in need of Oman's role... to strengthen ties between Arab states on the basis of mutual respect," the statement quoted Assad as saying.

Assad visited the UAE last year in his first trip to an Arab state since the war began, followed only by Oman visit.