Sharaa First Syrian President To Visit US In 60 Yrs

2025-09-24 06:10:12

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)

File Photo

NEW YORK – Syria's interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa touched down in New York on Sunday to attend the United Nations General Assembly, marking the first time in nearly 60 years that a Syrian head of state has joined the annual gathering.

The last Syrian president to take the podium in New York was in 1967, before the Assad family's five-decade grip on power. That rule collapsed last December, when Bashar Assad was ousted by a lightning rebel campaign spearheaded by Al-Sharaa, bringing an end to almost 14 years of civil war.

Since taking office, the former rebel commander has sought to rebrand himself as a statesman, meeting world leaders including US President Donald Trump in Riyadh and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris earlier this year. He has also attempted to mend ties with Arab capitals and Western powers, who remain cautious over his past links to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, once listed by Washington as a terrorist organization.

Al-Sharaa's outreach has been accompanied by pledges of coexistence and national reconciliation, though tensions persist. Rights groups accuse fighters loyal to his new government of carrying out massacres against Syria's Druze and Alawite minorities, stoking fears of renewed sectarian strife.

Sanctions relief is expected to dominate Al-Sharaa's agenda in New York. Trump has already lifted a wide range of economic restrictions imposed during Assad's tenure, but the toughest penalties remain enshrined in the US Caesar Act of 2019, which only Congress can repeal.

Another sensitive issue is Israel. Since Assad's fall, Israel has tightened control over a former UN-monitored buffer zone in southern Syria and continued airstrikes against Syrian positions. Talks are underway for a security deal, with Al-Sharaa expressing optimism last week that an agreement could be reached“within days.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has described such prospects as“still a vision for the future.”

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