DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Monday in Syria, making him the first major Western leader to visit the war-torn country since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited in April but Macron is the first leader from western Europe or North America to do so.The French president’s visit comes during a period of relative calm in the Middle East after the monthlong war in Iran and Lebanon. He will travel next to Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit, where Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is also expected to attend and meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said Macron would visit with a business delegation to discuss regional security as well as business and investment opportunities.The French president was greeted at Damascus airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.
“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 said in a post on X. “Together, let us open a new chapter of stability and peace.”
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