While Al-Sharaa becomes the first Syrian leader at the UN since 1967, Trump expels Syrian refugees
Syria’s interim president is expected to address the 80th United Nations General Assembly. This is a diplomatic coup for Syria’s post-Assad leadership. The White House scraps the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 6,000 Syrians in the United States, who now risk arrest and deportation.
Damascus (AsiaNews) – For the first time since 1967, a Syrian leader will attend the United Nations General Assembly, a significant first after decades of conflict between Washington and Damascus.
Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in New York yesterday to attend the meeting at the UN headquarters, scoring a diplomatic success as well as bolstering his leadership.
The leader of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militia, now in power after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime, is a former al-Qaeda leader who once had a million bounty on his head.
However, in recent months he has received full legitimacy from the White House during a meeting in Riyadh with President Donald Trump; moreover, he has been negotiating recently an agreement with Israel, despite struggling to keep a promise to hold legislative elections, which were recently postponed.
The United States lifted most sanctions, following the Saudi-led summit, which effectively brought Syria back into the international fold and ended decades of Western ostracism toward the Assad leadership.
This was complemented by the Trump administration's show of support for Sharaa's efforts, so far unsuccessful, to stabilise the country and unify its diverse communities; in fact, deep divisions remain, especially with the Druze, and in the northeast with the Kurds, with frequent outbreaks of sectarian violence.
The interim Syrian president is scheduled to deliver his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, which opens its 80th session tomorrow amid a turbulent international climate and a growing risk of global conflict.
The last Syrian leader to attend the United Nations General Assembly, was President Noureddin al-Atassi, who ruled before the Assad clan came to power in 1971, holding the country in their grip until they were overthrown last December after a long civil war.
Al-Sharaa arrived in New York leading a large Syrian delegation, in what state media called a “historic trip”.
The visit is highly symbolic since it represents the latest milestone in the process of normalising al-Sharaa who set up his government after seizing power in a lightning offensive at the end of more than a decade of fighting in the north.
In an interview with CBS's “Face the Nation”, the Syrian leader stated that “President Trump took a big step towards Syria by lifting the sanctions with a quick, courageous and historic decision.”
The Syrian leader calls for a "safe, stable and unified" country because it is "in the greatest interest of all countries in the world, not just Syria," while also hoping for another meeting with the US president during his stay in the United States.
“We need to discuss a great many issues and mutual interests between Syria and the USA. We must restore relations in a good and direct way,” he said.
After arriving in the US, al-Sharaa met with members of the Syrian community, while Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also raised the country's new flag at the embassy in Washington.
Meanwhile, the United States has ended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrians, warning Syrians that they now risk arrest and deportation if they do not leave the country within 60 days.
The measure adopted on 19 September is part of the White House's policy of detention and deportation, which aims to strip migrants of their legal status in the United States.
According to a notice published in the Federal Register, the TPS will be revoked for more than 6,000 Syrians who have benefited from it since 2012.
“Conditions in Syria no longer prevent their nationals from returning home,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Syria has been a hotbed of terrorism and extremism for nearly two decades, and it is contrary to our national interest to allow Syrians to remain in our country,” she added.
The statement notes that Syrians currently living in the United States have about two months to voluntarily leave the country and return home. “After the 60 days have expired, any Syrian national admitted under TPS who have (sic) not begun their voluntary removal proceedings will be subject to arrest and deportation,” it reads.
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