United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Damascus on Saturday for a three-day visit, becoming the first UN chief to set foot in Syria since Ban Ki-moon visited in 2009, two years before the start of the civil war that killed more than half a million people over 13 years before the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani received Guterres and his delegation at Damascus International Airport.  During the visit, Guterres is scheduled to meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who until November 2025 was under UN Security Council terrorism-related sanctions, as well as civil society organisations focusing on women’s rights and the new transitional parliament which held its first session earlier this month.
Guterres will also visit the UN Disengagement Observer Force, which has monitored the ceasefire between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights buffer zone since 1974.  Israel sent troops into the buffer zone after Assad’s overthrow and has carried out repeated strikes into Syrian territory since.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Guterres will emphasise the opportunity to lay the foundations for a future Syria that is more stable, inclusive and prosperous. US President Donald Trump informed al-Sharaa earlier this month that the US intends to remove Syria from its state sponsors of terrorism list.
