Syria begins ‘new phase of revival’, President Al-Sharaa tells General Assembly

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that his country “is rising” on many levels, thanks to the strength of its people.

In his second address to the General Debate in New York, he said Syria has begun to reclaim “its place among nations and States” through the diplomatic bridges it has built – proving “to the whole world that the security of the East is woven in Damascus and cannot be established without it”.

Mr. Al-Sharaa said Syria has been “united from north to south”, with weapons in the hands of non-State groups brought fully under Government control, security institutions rebuilt, sanctions lifted, reconstruction and investment projects launched, and a process of transitional justice – and efforts to determine the fate of the missing – well underway.

‘Destruction has ceased’

“In Syria’s journey through the conflict between good and evil, the war has laid down its burdens, the bloodshed has stopped, and the destruction has ceased,” he said. 

“Syria has begun its journey of recovery and revival, quickening its pace, confident in its path.”

He said his country was waging an open war against cross-border criminal networks, including drug and human trafficking, adding that the consolidation of security and stability had produced “a reality in which the walls of isolation are crumbling”.

“Recovery has returned to this wounded country, bringing with it the voluntary and dignified return of more than three and a half million displaced people and refugees, transforming Syria from a crisis batted between nations – into an opportunity for good around which nations can unite,” he said.

‘Golan will remain Syrian’

Mr. Al-Sharaa said Syria’s national constants were becoming ever more firmly rooted “through the force of law and the will of the people”, insisting that the Golan “will remain Syrian land, and all annexation measures are null and void under the force of Security Council resolution 497”.

That unanimously adopted resolution of 1981 declared Israel’s effective annexation of the Golan, null and void.

The Syrian premier rejected repeated and ongoing Israeli incursions into his country and “its persistent attempts to impose facts on the ground and its expanding attacks in the region, which undermine security and stability”, affirming his country’s commitment to the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, which established the UN observer force, UNDOF to maintain the ceasefire. 

A “historic opportunity for peace” exists, he said, “for those who wish to live in peace – a just peace that preserves the rights of all”.

Looking to the future

The Syrian President concluded his address by saying the long-running civil conflict in his country “taught us that truth is strong in itself, even when weakened, and that falsehood is weak, even when it prevails”, stressing that Syria was continuing to rebuild itself and restore its pride and dignity.

“Today, we stand at the 81st session to affirm the reality of progress and revival. And at the 82nd session, we will meet again to build together the fruits of a strategic partnership: a partnership that has established Syria as an international actor that creates prosperity, a regional model that leads stability, and a heart pulsing with life that opens its doors to the future,” he said.