UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on his first visit to Syria, called Saturday on the international community to help the country as it moves through a transition following years of civil war and the establishment of new authorities.
President Ahmad al-Sharaa receives UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the People’s Palace in Damascus © SANA
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on his first visit to Syria, called Saturday on the international community to help the country as it moves through a transition following years of civil war and the establishment of new authorities.
Alongside President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Guterres also called for respect of Syria's sovereignty, a reference to ongoing Israeli incursions into the south of the country. The visit is the first by a UN secretary-general since Ban Ki-moon in 2009, and comes more than a year and a half after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, toppled by a coalition of Islamist rebel factions.
"No country emerges from a very severe conflict and rebuilds itself on its own," Guterres said at a joint press conference with al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani following their talks at the presidential palace in Damascus. "We must help Syria in its determination and resolve to do so."
In a post on X shortly after landing, Guterres described the trip as a "visit of solidarity," writing: "The United Nations stands with Syria at this pivotal moment." His delegation was received at Damascus airport by al-Shaibani.
The UN chief is expected to remain in Damascus for several days, meeting other government officials and representatives of Syrian civil society, and is due to address the Syrian parliament on Monday.
According to a Syrian official, talks with al-Sharaa also touched on accelerating UN recovery projects and a more active role for the UN's Disengagement Observer Force operating near the occupied Golan Heights, an area where Israel has expanded its military presence and conducts regular incursions since Assad's fall.
Al-Sharaa, the former leader of Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate who broke with the group in 2016 and was only removed from UN Security Council sanctions in November 2025, has sought to rebuild Syria's international standing since taking power. His transition has been marked by two major episodes of sectarian violence, one targeting the Alawite minority on the coast, the other affecting the Druze in the south, both of which Guterres has said require accountability.
Guterres' visit comes weeks after two bombs exploded near a Damascus hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron had stayed overnight, an incident that overshadowed the first visit to Syria by a European Union head of state since Assad's ouster.
On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly handed High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk a fresh four-year mandate, ignoring clear opposition from the United States, Russia, and Israel.
United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Turk, an outspoken critic of Russia's war in Ukraine and Israel's conduct in Gaza, faces opposition from both countries to a second four-year term ahead of a potentially contentious vote on Friday, diplomats told Reuters.
Syria's General Authority for Land and Sea Ports and Customs said Tuesday that customs officers had thwarted an attempt to smuggle more than 200 hand grenades hidden inside a vehicle attempting to cross the border toward Lebanon.
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