NEW YORK: Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, visiting New York for the UN General Assembly, voiced hope Monday for a security deal that eases tensions with Israel but he played down the prospect of recognition. Sharaa, a former jihadist whose forces toppled longtime leader Bashar Assad in December, met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and later will deliver the first address in decades by a Syrian leader to the General Assembly.

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has departed for the United States, state media reported Sunday, on a landmark trip that will see the former insurgent address the…

Ahmad al-Sharaa has sought to restore ties with Arab countries and the West since Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December.