In a striking sign of shifting alliances and new beginnings, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa made history this week as he became the first Syrian leader in nearly six decades to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The meeting, held on September 22, 2025, saw al-Sharaa sit down with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, marking a dramatic turn in Syria’s relations with both the West and its regional neighbors after years of isolation and war.
It’s hard to overstate the significance of this moment. The last time a Syrian head of state attended a high-level U.N. meeting was back in 1967—long before the Assad family’s 50-year grip on power. According to The Hindu, al-Sharaa’s attendance signals not only Syria’s return to the international stage but also a potential thaw in relations with the United States and its allies.
Al-Sharaa’s rise to power was itself a whirlwind. In December 2024, he led a lightning insurgent offensive that ousted Bashar al-Assad, effectively ending nearly 14 years of civil war that had devastated the country. Since then, he’s moved quickly to restore ties with Arab nations and the West, though not without controversy. The rebel group he once led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, had been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., a label that was only recently removed by the Trump administration as part of a broader push to reintegrate Syria into the global community.
President Donald Trump’s administration has taken bold steps to support this new era for Syria. Not only has the U.S. erased the terrorist designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but it has also lifted or waived a large swathe of sanctions that had been imposed under the Assads’ rule. As Times Now reported, Rubio “underscored this opportunity for Syria to build a stable and sovereign nation following President Trump’s historic announcement earlier this year on sanctions relief for the Syrian people.”
The meeting between al-Sharaa and Rubio, held on the sidelines of the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly, was wide-ranging. According to the U.S. State Department, the two leaders discussed “ongoing counterterrorism efforts, efforts to locate missing Americans, and the importance of Israel-Syria relations in achieving greater regional security.” Rubio himself posted on social media, “I met with Syrian President al-Sharaa about our shared goals for a stable and sovereign Syria and ongoing efforts to bring security and prosperity to all Syrians. We also discussed implementing President Trump’s historic announcement on sanctions relief and the importance of Israel-Syria relations.”
Yet, even as diplomatic doors open, old wounds and deep suspicions remain. One of the thorniest issues is Syria’s relationship with Israel, a key U.S. ally. The question of whether Syria would join the Abraham Accords—an agreement that saw several Arab states normalize relations with Israel during Trump’s first term—was front and center. Al-Sharaa, however, was unequivocal in his skepticism. In a conversation with retired General David Petraeus at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York, al-Sharaa stated, “There’s a big difference between Syria and those members in the Abraham Accords. Syria is different. And those who are part of the Abraham Accords are not neighbors to Israel. Therefore, Syria as a neighbor has been subjected to over 1,000 raids, strikes and Israeli incursions.”
This isn’t just rhetoric. As AP and Times Now have reported, Israel has seized a formerly U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military sites over the years. Syria’s proximity to Israel, and its history of conflict with its neighbor, make normalization a far more complicated—and fraught—prospect than for other Arab states.
Still, there are signs that change may be afoot. Syria is currently in talks with both the U.S. and Israel over a potential security arrangement, which could be finalized as early as this week. While al-Sharaa has expressed doubt about joining the Abraham Accords, he has indicated a willingness to negotiate a return to the 1974 truce with Israel, suggesting a pragmatic approach to regional security. “Syria has to be respected in this new era. There are different phases of negotiations with Israel to go back to the truce of 1974,” he said at the Concordia Summit.
Al-Sharaa’s path to the U.N. rostrum was not without hurdles. Because of lingering Assad-era visa restrictions, the U.S. State Department had to issue waivers for al-Sharaa and his delegation to attend the General Assembly meeting, which kicked off on September 23, 2025. Even so, not all sanctions have been lifted. Al-Sharaa used the platform to call for the removal of the remaining restrictions, arguing that continued sanctions would only prolong the suffering of ordinary Syrians. “The Syrian people should not be killed another time through the sanctions,” he said. “The Syrian people love work. Lift the sanctions and don’t worry about them.”
There’s also the matter of accountability for wartime abuses. When pressed about atrocities committed against minorities in Syria’s coastal region and the southern province of Sweida—incidents that have caused alarm in the U.S. and beyond—al-Sharaa was candid: “There was major chaos and everyone made mistakes.” For the first time in 60 years, Syria has allowed international fact-finding teams into the country. Al-Sharaa pledged that the state would pursue accountability for those found guilty, regardless of their proximity to the regime. “The Syrian state will work on accountability against those found guilty even if they were the closest people to us,” he said.
Al-Sharaa’s overtures have not gone unnoticed. At the Concordia Summit, he publicly thanked President Trump for what he called a “bold decision” to lift many sanctions after their meeting in Saudi Arabia in May 2025. “I think Syria deserves a new opportunity,” he told the audience, signaling a desire for a fresh start both at home and abroad.
Despite the optimism, the path ahead for Syria remains complex. The country is emerging from nearly a decade and a half of brutal conflict, and the scars—both physical and political—run deep. Neighboring countries, international observers, and the Syrian people themselves will be watching closely to see whether this new era of diplomacy brings real change or simply a reshuffling of old alliances.
For now, though, the sight of a Syrian president shaking hands with a U.S. Secretary of State in New York—after decades of war, sanctions, and isolation—is a vivid reminder that in international politics, even the most entrenched hostilities can sometimes give way to new possibilities.
