French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Damascus on Monday evening for the first visit by a Western European head of state since Syria's new authorities took power in December 2024.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani welcomed the French leader and his Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot at the airport.
"I have come to express France's commitment to the Syrian people. For a sovereign Syria, united in its diversity and at peace with its neighbors," Macron wrote online soon after arrival.
"Together, let us open a new chapter of stability and peace."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Damascus earlier in the year, as did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Macron was greeted on the airport asphalt by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-ShaibaniImage: Ludovic Marin/AFP
