Guterres urges immediate removal of Assad-era sanctions during Syria visit

UN Secretary-General António Guterres concluded a two-day visit to Damascus by calling for the immediate removal of all sanctions imposed during the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad. He welcomed recent steps by Western states, including the United States, to ease some restrictions but argued that full lifting is needed to unlock investment, rebuild infrastructure and restore services after more than 13 years of conflict. The World Bank estimates reconstruction could cost about $216 billion; despite partial easing, investors remain cautious.

During the trip — the first by a UN chief to Syria since 2009 — Guterres met senior officials including President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and the speaker of the new transitional parliament, as well as UN peacekeepers in the Golan and representatives of civil society. He urged inclusive governance, support for safe and dignified returns of refugees and internally displaced people (some 1.7 million have returned since Assad's ouster, while roughly 5.5 million remain displaced inside Syria and about six million are abroad), and reiterated that violations of Syria's sovereignty are unacceptable amid recent reported Israeli incursions. He also visited Sednaya prison, a notorious detention site, and appealed to the international community to back recovery efforts, as reported by Al-Monitor

This story has also been reported by: Jerusalem Post, Anadolu Agency