UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was under UN Security Council sanctions until last year
\n Damascus
\nUnited Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has landed in Syria, marking the first official visit by a serving UN chief in 17 years.
\nGuterres arrived on Saturday morning at Damascus international airport, where he and his delegation were met by Syria\u2019s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria\u2019s state news agency reported.
\nDuring the trip, Guterres will meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who was under UN Security Council sanctions until last year.
\nThe UN chief\u2019s visit is a first since 2009, before the country\u2019s bloody 14-year civil war broke out. It is yet another diplomatic milestone for al-Sharaa, who has sought to rebuild international ties since he took power after the 2024 ouster of Syria\u2019s longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.
\nGuterres will also hold talks with al-Shaibani, other government officials and representatives of Syrian civil society.
\nThe visit will include a field tour to inspect the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), stationed in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, as part of efforts to monitor commitments under the ceasefire agreement with Israel.<\/p>\n
\u2018Stable, more inclusive Syria\u2019
\nUN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Guterres plans to highlight that Syria has an opportunity to \u201cnot only to recover from conflict, but also to lay the foundations for a future for Syria that will be more stable, more inclusive, and more prosperous for all Syrians\u201d.
\nGuterres is expected to be in Damascus for several days, but the full schedule of his visit has not been released by his office. He is expected to address Syria\u2019s new parliament on Monday.
\nThe visit also comes just weeks after two bombs exploded near a hotel in Damascus where French President Emmanuel Macron spent the night, overshadowing the first visit to Syria by a European Union head of state since al-Assad was toppled.
\nSyrian authorities have said they have uncovered the cell responsible for the bombings, arresting suspects affiliated with the ISIL (ISIS) group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was under UN Security Council sanctions until last year Damascus United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has landed in Syria, marking the first official visit by a serving UN chief in 17 years. Guterres arrived on Saturday morning at Damascus international airport, where he and his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-558391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n