final days of presence in yemen, that it was -- that was influenced by the whole covid ordeal. and i think from that reset, we realized that the challenges of the next decade are not necessarily the same challenges of the past decade. >> reporter: the emirates' shift is from taking sides to bringing opposing sides together. >> we are going to be an influencer in the region, but our flinfluence is going to be through different tools, through this sort of diplomatic navigation, through keeping this balance between all of these different relationships that we have. >> reporter: that's already meant snubbing u.s. appeals for more sanctions on iran, controversial outreach to syria's dictator, bashar al asad, and warming relations with turkey. the emirates has met an american