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A Syrian president arrives in US for UN General Assembly for first time in nearly 60 years
Ahmad al-Sharaa has sought to restore ties with Arab countries and the West since Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December
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Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in New York on Sunday to take part in the UN General Assembly, the first president of Syria to do so in nearly six decades.
The last time a Syrian head of state attended the General Assembly was in 1967. That was before the 50-year rule of the Assad family dynasty, which came to an end in December when then-president Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a lightning insurgent offensive led by Sharaa. Assad’s fall also brought to an end nearly 14 years of civil war.
Since then, Sharaa has sought to restore ties with Arab countries and the West, where officials were initially wary of his past ties with the al-Qaeda militant group. The rebel group he formerly led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was previously designated by the United States as a terrorist group.
Since assuming power, Sharaa has preached coexistence and sought to reassure Syria’s minority communities but the country’s fragile recovery has been threatened by outbreaks of sectarian violence.
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