Guterres arrives in Syria in first official visit by a UN chief in 17 years

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was under UN-security-council" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="1865" data-entity-type="organization">UN Security Council sanctions until last year.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 delegation were met by Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria’s state news agency reported.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump push for Syrian intervention against Hezbollah ‘short-sighted’list 2 of 4Syria’s Al-Sharaa reshuffles security and intelligence leadershiplist 3 of 4Bomb attacks rattle Damascus but for most Syrians, life goes onlist 4 of 4Syrian people must not be failed againend of listDuring the trip, Guterres will meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who was under UN-security-council" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="1865" data-entity-type="organization">UN Security Council sanctions until last year.The UN chief’s visit is a first since 2009, before the country’s 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’s longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.Guterres will also hold talks with al-Shaibani, other government officials and representatives of Syrian civil society.The 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.‘Stable, more inclusive Syria’UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Guterres plans to highlight that Syria has an opportunity to “not 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”.Guterres 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’s new parliament on Monday.