Guterres Syria visit marks first by UN chief in 17 years
Antonio Guterres landed in Damascus for talks with Syrian leaders and a UNDOF field tour, according to Syrian and UN officials.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Damascus on Saturday for a Guterres Syria visit that marks the first official trip by a serving UN chief to the country in 17 years. The visit puts the UN’s top official in Syria as President Ahmed al-Sharaa seeks wider international engagement after Bashar al-Assad’s removal in 2024, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
Syria’s state news agency reported that Guterres and his delegation landed at Damascus international airport on Saturday morning. Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met the delegation on arrival, the agency said.
Guterres is expected to meet al-Sharaa during the trip. Al Jazeera and Reuters described the Syrian president as a former al-Qaeda commander who had been under UN Security Council sanctions until last year.
Why is Guterres visiting Syria?
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Guterres plans to stress that Syria has a chance to recover from war and build a future that is more stable, inclusive and prosperous for Syrians. The visit is also expected to include meetings with al-Shaibani, other Syrian officials and civil society representatives, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
The trip is significant because no serving UN secretary-general has made an official visit to Syria since 2009. That was before the start of the country’s 14-year civil war, which reshaped Syria’s politics and its relations with foreign governments and international institutions.
Al-Sharaa has tried to restore Syria’s outside ties since taking power after al-Assad was ousted in 2024, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Guterres’s arrival adds another high-profile diplomatic moment for the new Syrian leadership.
What will Guterres do during the trip?
The secretary-general is expected to spend several days in Damascus, though his office has not released a full public schedule. He is expected to address Syria’s new parliament on Monday, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
Guterres also plans a field visit linked to the UN Disengagement Observer Force, known as UNDOF. The force is stationed in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and monitors commitments under the ceasefire agreement with Israel, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
UNDOF is a UN peacekeeping mission connected to the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights. Its role is to observe and report on compliance with the ceasefire arrangements between Syria and Israel.
Security concerns in Damascus
The visit follows a recent security incident in the Syrian capital. Al Jazeera and Reuters reported that two bombs exploded near a Damascus hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron had stayed overnight, overshadowing the first visit to Syria by a European Union head of state since al-Assad’s fall.
Syrian authorities said they had identified the cell behind those bombings and arrested suspects affiliated with ISIL, also known as ISIS, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. No full schedule for Guterres’s visit has been made public by his office.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.