Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa has become the first Syrian head of state to address the United Nations General Assembly since 1967, according to the AP report supplied in the packet. The speech ended nearly six decades of absence from the Assembly podium and symbolized how far Syria's political position has shifted since the collapse of the Assad dynasty.
Al-Sharaa told the international community that Syria was reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world. The AP report says hundreds of people gathered in squares across Syria to watch the speech on giant screens and wave flags, turning the moment into a national event as well as a diplomatic one. The president also used the address to condemn Israel, saying its threats had not stopped since Assad's fall and that its policies endangered the region.
The speech comes against the backdrop of a radically changed Syrian state. AP says Assad's 54-year family rule collapsed in December after al-Sharaa led a lightning insurgent offensive. Since then, he has tried to present himself as a leader of coexistence while Syria's new authorities wrestle with sectarian violence, accusations of atrocities in Druze and Alawite areas, and the practical work of reconstructing state institutions.
That tension was reflected in the way al-Sharaa talked about accountability and security. He said the state had formed fact-finding missions and allowed the United Nations to investigate killings, and he promised to bring to justice anyone whose hands were tainted with Syrian blood. He also urged Western governments to lift Assad-era sanctions, arguing that they were shackling the Syrian people and preventing economic recovery.
The president's diplomatic message was not limited to sanctions. AP says he also discussed efforts to reach a security deal with Israel that would lead to a withdrawal of Israeli forces and a return to the 1974 disengagement arrangement. Netanyahu's office later said negotiations were underway but that Israel's interests, including the demilitarization of southwestern Syria and the safety of the Druze minority, had to be protected. That exchange shows how Syria's new leadership is trying to turn its political opening into concrete diplomatic gains.
The atmosphere outside the U.N. mirrored Syria's divisions. In Damascus, crowds celebrated the speech in Umayyad Square. In New York, rival demonstrations by members of the Syrian diaspora unfolded at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, with supporters and opponents holding competing flags and competing visions of Syria's future. Those scenes made clear that al-Sharaa's appearance was not just a ceremonial first, but a moment in an unresolved national argument.
