BEIRUT:
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in Damascus on Saturday for the first trip to Syria by a serving United Nations’ chief since 2009, before the start of a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
“The United Nations stands with Syria at this pivotal moment,” Guterres said in a post on X on arriving for what he described as a “visit of solidarity.” He appealed to the international community to “spare no effort” to support the Syrian people.
Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa received Guterres at the presidential palace in Damascus, state news agency SANA said.
Sharaa, the former head of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, was until November 2025 under terrorism-related sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council.
