United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for the removal of all sanctions on Syria as he concluded a two-day visit to the country on Sunday.
During his visit, Guterres met senior officials including President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and the speaker of the new transitional parliament which held its first session this month.
Also in Damascus, he met members of the UN peacekeeping force deployed in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights, as well as representatives of Syria's civil society, diverse communities, women and young people.
He also visited Sednaya prison near the capital, Syria's most notoriously brutal facility under al-Assad.
Many countries, mainly in the West, imposed sanctions during the era of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad. Syria's new authorities, who took power in December 2024, are trying to turn the page after more than 13 years of war, and to reboot the economy and rebuild infrastructure and institutions.
