Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said his country has no intention of normalizing relations with Syria after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term last week in elections described by the opposition and the West as a farce.

Qatar, among countries in the region such as Saudi Arabia, has backed armed opposition groups in the decade-long Syrian civil war. But some, such as the UAE, sought to normalize relations after Assad regained control of most of the country.

The foreign minister said in an interview with Al-Araby TV, based in Britain, broadcast on Friday, "We have not seen any prospect for a political solution acceptable to the Syrian people until now... We have not seen any progress in that. There is a continuation of the same approach and behavior."

Sheikh Mohammed added, "We have no motive to restore relations at the present time with the Syrian regime...the Syrian regime is committing crimes against its people."

The Syrian government said Wednesday's elections show that things in the country are proceeding normally despite the war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced 11 million.

Gulf Arab states reduced the level of diplomatic representation with Damascus in 2012 or closed their diplomatic missions after government attacks on protests at the start of the conflict.

The UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus in late 2018 in an attempt to counter the influence of non-Arab countries in Syria such as Iran, which, along with Russia, supported Assad, and Turkey, which supported armed opposition groups.

The UAE has a charge d'affaires in Syria. The Sultanate of Oman, one of the few Arab countries to maintain diplomatic relations with Damascus, sent an ambassador there in 2020.