Al Shara arrives in New York for historic UN appearance as Syria sets date for parliamentary election

Country will be representing at General Assembly by head of state for first time since 1967

Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara steps off the plane in New York. Photo: Sana

Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara has arrived for the UN General Assembly in New York.

He will become the first Syrian head of state in nearly six decades to attend the annual event.

A Syrian leader last took part in the UNGA in 1967, before the 50-year rule of the Assad family, which was toppled in December by a rebel offensive led by Mr Al Shara.

Mr Al Shara has sought better relations with Western and Arab countries since then, while treading carefully when dealing with Israeli military operations against Syria.

His participation at the UNGA in New York comes as Syria announces a long-anticipated parliamentary election, which will be held on October 5.

The parliamentary election will be the first under Syria's new Islamist-led government. State news agency Sana said voting for the 210-member People's Assembly will take place across all electoral districts, even though the electoral commission said last month that the process would be delayed in three provinces due to security concerns.

The new assembly is expected to set the foundation for a broader democratic process. The assembly will have the power to approve legislation and ratify treaties with foreign countries.

Ahmad Al Shara is seeking to improve ties with many Western and Arab countries. Photo: Sana

However, the seats will not be allocated via a direct popular vote. They will be filled through an electoral college system, with electoral bodies in each province voting for two-thirds of the seats. The other third will be appointed by Mr Al Shara.

Officials have said staging direct elections at this time will be logistically difficult because many Syrians have lost personal documentation or are living abroad as refugees after the country's 13-year civil war.

Syria initially said an election would take place in September but that voting in Sweida – which witnessed sectarian clashes in July – as well as in the provinces of Hasaka and Raqqa, which are partly controlled by the mainly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, would be delayed.

Since assuming power, Mr Al Shara has pledged to build an inclusive society and reassure Syria’s minority communities, but the country’s recovery from war has been threatened by outbreaks of sectarian violence. Fighters affiliated with the new government have also been accused of killing hundreds of civilians from the Druze and Alawite minorities.

Mr Al Shara is expected to use his visit to the US to push for further sanctions relief for Syria as it attempts to rebuild its economy.

US President Donald Trump met Mr Al Shara in Saudi Arabia in May and announced that he would lift decades of sanctions imposed under the Assad family.

Although many sanctions have been lifted, the most stringent ones were imposed by Congress under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act passed in 2019 and require a congressional vote to permanently remove.

Many politicians in the US were initially wary of Mr Al Shara due to his past ties with Al Qaeda. They have also tied sanctions relief to Syria making peace with Israel, America's main ally in the Middle East.

Israel has also been suspicious of Mr Al Shara. It has seized a formerly UN-patrolled buffer zone in the south of the country and launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian military sites.

Negotiations have been under way for a security deal that Mr Al Shara hopes will bring about a withdrawal of Israeli forces and return to a 1974 disengagement agreement. Mr Al Shara said last week that a deal could be reached in a matter of days, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday appeared to play down the possibility.

“There is some progress” but the deal is “still a vision for the future”, he said.