UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Visits Syria for First Time Since 2009

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres began a three-day visit to Damascus on Saturday, July 25, 2026, marking the first trip by a serving UN chief to the Syrian capital since 2009. Guterres met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the People's Palace and held expanded talks with Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at Tishreen Palace. The mission focuses on humanitarian cooperation, development, and early recovery as Syria attempts to rebuild after the December 2024 collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Guterres appealed to the international community to support the Syrian people, noting that 90 percent of the population lives in poverty. The World Bank estimates the cost of rebuilding the war-torn nation at approximately $216 billion. During his visit, Guterres is scheduled to address the Syrian parliament on Monday and visit UN peacekeeping forces deployed along the border with Israel.

The diplomatic mission arrives as the Islamist-led transitional government seeks to expand international ties and the United States moves to remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. However, the transition remains fragile, marked by sectarian violence against Alawite and Druze minorities and ongoing tensions with Israel, which continues to conduct airstrikes on Syrian military facilities and maintain control of the buffer zone.