DAMASCUS, Syria — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged international support for Syria on Saturday as he visited the country, which is in transition following years of war and the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Guterres is the first UN chief to visit Syria since his predecessor Ban Ki-moon in 2009, two years before the start of Syria’s civil war, which went on to kill more than half a million people before the new Islamist authorities took power in December 2024.

“I have just arrived in Damascus for a visit of solidarity. My message is clear: The UN stands with Syria at this pivotal moment and I appeal to the international community to spare no effort to support the people of Syria as well,” Guterres said on X.

State media reported that Guterres met President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the presidential palace after visiting Damascus’s Old City, with images appearing to show him at the famed Umayyad Mosque.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani had earlier received the UN chief and his accompanying delegation at Damascus airport.

Since Sharaa took power, the international community has urged the new Islamist authorities to build strong and effective institutions and establish a governance system that includes all components of Syria’s multi-ethnic, multi-confessional society.

Guterres “will emphasise that the opportunity now is not only to recover from conflict, but also to lay the foundations for a future for Syria that will be more stable, more........

© The Times of Israel