UN chief in Syria, first such visit since 2009

DAMASCUS

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Syria on July 25 for the first visit by a serving U.N. chief since 2009, with talks expected to focus on the country’s political transition following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani received Guterres and his delegation at Damascus International Airport, state news agency SANA reported.

Guterres is expected to spend three days in Syria and meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa, government officials and representatives of civil society, including organizations working on women’s issues.

He is also scheduled to address Syria’s new transitional parliament, which held its first session earlier this month.

Ahead of the visit, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres would stress that Syria had an opportunity “not only to recover from conflict, but also to lay the foundations for a future” that was more stable, inclusive and prosperous.

The U.N. chief will also reaffirm the organization’s support for the Syrian people during the transition, Dujarric said.

Al-Sharaa led the rebel alliance that ousted Assad in December 2024, ending more than 13 years of war. The conflict, which began in 2011, killed more than half a million people and displaced millions.

Since taking power, the new authorities have faced international calls to establish effective institutions and a system of government representing Syria’s ethnic and religious communities.

Al-Sharaa last year became the first Syrian president since 1967 to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

During his visit, Guterres is also due to meet personnel from the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force, which has monitored the ceasefire between Syrian and Israeli forces in the Golan Heights since 1974.

After Assad’s overthrow, Israel moved troops into the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone and carried out strikes and incursions deeper into Syrian territory. Israeli officials have said the military intends to retain a security zone in southern Syria and have called for the wider area to be demilitarized.

Syria has demanded an Israeli withdrawal and a return to the 1974 disengagement agreement.

The two sides have held several rounds of U.S.-mediated talks and established a communication mechanism covering intelligence sharing and military de-escalation, although Israeli military operations in Syria have continued.