On September 24, Ukrainian President Zelensky announced in New York that he had signed a joint communiqué between Ukraine and Syria on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations during talks with the Syrian regime leader in Sharra.
Zelensky said that the leaders of the two countries discussed in detail the prospects for cooperation and development, the security threats faced by the two countries and the importance of jointly responding to threats. The two sides agreed to build bilateral relations on the basis of mutual respect and trust.
The resumption of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Syria is one of the important diplomatic achievements made by Shara during his visit to the United Nations as Syrian leader. As the first Syrian leader to visit the United States and attend the UN General Assembly in nearly 60 years, Shara's trip not only gained great support in Syria, but also aroused widespread concern from international public opinion. Qatar's Al Jazeera reported that Shala led a huge delegation of Syrian officials on this trip, which was called a "milestone visit" by Syrian official media.
Wang Zheng, deputy director of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Institute for International Affairs, said during a visit to the United Nations as a Syrian leader and attended the general debate at the UN General Assembly that the international community, especially the Western countries, no longer regarded him as a “radical ‘terrorist’ leader” but began to accept him as a normal national leader. Wang Zheng said that the interaction between the Syrian leader and the Western leader is part of both sides, “Western support for the regime, especially the lifting of sanctions against Syria, will provide more legitimacy for the regime and alleviate the current economic difficulties facing Syria; while for the United States and Europe, the regime can better control Syria and can provide more geopolitical interests for them to curb Russia and Iran’s influence in the region.”
On September 24, 2025, in Damascus, Syria, after a speech by Syrian regime leader Ahmed Saleh at the United Nations General Assembly, people gathered together to wave flags and celebrate.
“Historic moment” in Syria
According to the United Nations News Network, on September 24, local time, Saleh spoke at the 80th General Debate of the UN General Assembly, the first time in 60 years that a Syrian leader spoke at the General Debate of the UN General Assembly.
In his speech, Shara called on the international community to lift the sanctions against Syria, and reiterated the measures taken by his Syrian transitional government in the past few months: establishing new institutions, planning elections and encouraging foreign investment. In his speech, he called for "complete lifting of sanctions" and "letting sanctions no longer bind the Syrian people".
At the same time, he condemned Israel's continuous attacks on Syria in the past few months, saying that although the Syrian government has been working hard to promote reform, "Israel's attacks and attacks on our country continue". He said that "Israel contradicts the international community's support for Syria" and warned that Israel's move "threatens regional security and may trigger new crises and conflicts." He also said that Syria is committed to dialogue and will abide by the Disengagement Agreement reached between Syria and Israel after the "Fourth Middle East War" in 1974. After the Bashar regime was overthrown at the end of 2024, Israel announced a moratorium on the implementation of this agreement.
U.S. media revealed on September 16 that the Israeli government had submitted a draft of a detailed security agreement to the Syrian regime, similar to the peace treaty signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979.
Shala also expressed support for Palestine in his speech, saying that Syria "stands firmly with the people of Gaza, children and copies and all people facing violation and aggression. We call for an immediate end to the war". He said, "We don't want anyone to repeat the suffering of Syria. We are one of the people who deeply understand the terror of war and destruction."
The Peninsula TV that Sala won enormous support in Syria during the UN debut. During the UN General Assembly speech, a large crowd gathered in Damascus, Syria’s capital, to watch “this historic moment”, people waved national flags and burned fireworks and celebrated. Reportedly, Syrian cities were immersed in the moment and atmosphere of celebration, “a sign of Syria’s return to the international community after years of suffering and isolation.”
Wang said that Saleh's speech at the UN General Assembly, which helps him better establish the image of a country's leader and better fight for international support, calls for the lifting of sanctions and condemning Israel, is to show the Syrian people his resolute attitude to defend Syrian interests, which is more a domestic political consideration," he said, "to talk about the Gaza issue, more to show the position of the new Syrian regime standing on the united front with Arab states and Islamic States, which can fight for the current Syrian regime to gain more Arab support and recognition."
Trip to new york "shows the complexity of the regional situation"
In addition to attending the general debate at the United Nations General Assembly, the schedule in New York was also rich.
According to the Syrian state news agency on September 25th, Shala met with U.S. President Trump in New York. This is another meeting since the two men met in Riyadh in May this year, but the report did not provide more details. According to Israeli media reports, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold three-party talks with Shala and Trump.
According to Syrian media reports, during his stay in new york, Salad also met with European Commission President von der Leyen, French President Macron, Italian Prime Minister Meloni, Finnish President stubb, US Secretary of State rubio and others. On September 23rd, von der Leyen said through social platforms that she had a "useful exchange" with Sarah on the challenges facing Syrian transition. She stressed that the EU "will continue to support a true, inclusive and peaceful transition led by Syrians and free from harmful foreign interference".
In a statement issued after the meeting between Meloni and Sala, the Italian Prime Minister’s Office said the talks provided an “opportunity” to reiterate Italy’s support for the restoration of stability and sovereignty in Syria, including commercial investments through Italy in areas of common interest.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement that Rubio and Salad discussed "U.S. priorities in Syria" during the meeting. According to the statement, Rubio exchanged views with Salad on the ongoing counter-terrorism efforts, the search for missing Americans, and "the importance of Israel-Syria relations to achieve wider regional security."
Wang Zhen said that western leaders' meetings with Salad show that the United States and Europe are replacing the basic consensus of the international community on anti-terrorism cooperation after September 11th with the logic of geopolitical competition. In other words, "Western countries are redefining the war on terror and what terrorists and terrorism are, which is a huge step backwards." He said that after the overthrow of Bashar's regime, the United States and Europe quickly established relations with the Salad regime, on the one hand, to minimize Russia's influence in Syria, and on the other hand, to cut off Iran's support for Hezbollah in Lebanon through the strategic channel in Syria. "As geopolitical competition has become the most fundamental strategic consideration again, under such interests, whether it is a terrorist organization or whether someone is a terrorist is not so important."
The most dramatic scene of the trip took place on September 22. On the same day, Sarah attended a think tank event in New York, hosted by his former “old opponent” David Petreus, former director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The Peninsula TV quoted commentators as saying that the conversation between Sarah and Petreus was full of huge contradictions: the CIA offered $10 million for collecting information on the arrest of Sarah, while Petreus greeted her in Arabic when he met with Sarah: “Mr. President, you are okay.” The Guardian in a slightly ridiculous way that Sarah tried to “prove that she could be a qualified leader,” while Petrews was concerned in the question “do you sleep enough at night under such a great pressure?”
Al Jazeera said that only the photo of Salad and Petraeus with the title "This is politics" is enough to become the essence of contemporary political science textbooks. "They once faced each other on the battlefield, but now they are discussing the current situation in new york. This contrast not only subverts the traditional political logic, but also reflects the complexity of the regional situation."
The Syrian regime still faces major challenges
Time magazine published an article pointing out that although Shara's appearance in the United Nations will further consolidate the international community's recognition of his government, the domestic turmoil in Syria still makes the prospects of the current regime bleak.
Although the regime has been seized for 10 months, the stability and legitimacy of the current Syrian regime appears to be uncertain.Al new parliamentary elections will be held in October this year, the election process is still strictly controlled, and according to the provisional constitution issued in March this year, a third of the seats in parliament will be appointed by Sala.
Meanwhile, ethnic and religious contradictions in Syria have not really eased. A report released in August by the United Nations Syrian Investigation Committee said that the Syrian Arabian community was systematically exposed to violence in March this year, including murder, torture and inhuman treatment of the dead, and accompanied by mass robberies and burning of houses, resulting in tens of thousands of civilians displaced and about 1,400 killed. The report said the Syrian regime filed in July had initially confirmed 298 military personnel involved and 265 former members of government-related armed organizations suspected of being involved in the atrocities, and transferred the list to the Office of the Attorney General. The Aravit community referred to the former regime’s traditional support for Shia Muslims on the coast.
In July this year, the armed factions of Druze and the Bedouin tribes broke out in the southern Soviet province of Syria, with the Syrian regime’s internal affairs and defence forces subsequently intervening and engaging with some of the armed Druze factions. Israel intervened in the conflict on the pretext of protecting the Druze people and launched a massive airstrike on Damascus, causing serious casualties. In addition, northern Syria is still under the Kurdish armed forces’ control. Though the Syrian regime and the Kurdish armed forces reached an agreement in March this year to integrate it into state institutions, progress is slow.
Internal instability also poses serious challenges for the economic reconstruction of Syria.While Trump signed an executive order in July to lift some of the sanctions against Syria, providing an opportunity to ease Syria’s economic isolation, the remaining sanctions still need to be lifted by Congress before legislation, which is why Sala has repeatedly called for the lifting of sanctions in his speech to the General Assembly.
Wang Zhen said that judging from the current situation, due to geopolitical factors, it is unlikely that the West will call back its policy and give up its support for Salad, but the two sides are still in a stage of mutual testing and observation. "The West needs to observe how the political situation in Syria itself goes, such as whether some extremist forces will be controlled, whether some contradictions will intensify, and whether domestic policies will tend to be radical." He said, "Salad is observing how much benefits the West can give itself, such as lifting sanctions and providing assistance."
Wang said, “Overall, the Sahara regime needs the West more than the West needs the Sahara regime, because Syria now needs Western humanitarian aid, Western diplomatic recognition and economic support, as well as more support from neighboring countries.