Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Shara’a and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani travelled to Washington and New York for a week of key meetings in the third week of September. Shaibani arrived first. His trip was the first by a Syrian foreign minister to the United States capital in a quarter century.
He was received with open arms. This visit comes in a year that has seen momentous changes in Syria. The Assad regime fell in December 2024, and the new transitional government emerged in early 2025. Since then, the new government of President al-Shara’a has had to navigate many crises.
Syrian Dignitaries in Washington and the UN
What matters for Syria in its meetings in Washington, as well as the president’s appearance at the UN General Assembly, is that the country can showcase its return to being a normal part of the international community.
It is also seeking to continue sanctions relief in the US and support for reconstruction. Symbolic of the welcome the Syrian leadership received was a discussion where Shara’a shared a stage with former CIA Director and former US Central Command head David Petraeus at the Concordia Summit. Shara’a had once backed the Iraqi insurgency against the US command that Petraeus led.
Division Continues in Syria
Back home, Shara’a is trying to consolidate Syria’s control over the country after a decade and a half of division. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces continue to control eastern Syria. Turkey has a role in northern Syria.
Israel also seized some small border areas after the Assad regime fell. In addition, Israel backs the Druze in southern Syria, and they are now calling for autonomy or even independence. A new roadmap agreed upon among Syria, Jordan, and the US aims to resolve the issues in the Druze-majority province of Suweida.
Meanwhile, Israel and Syria may also be nearing a US-backed agreement. However, many details remain. This means there are a lot of balls in the air for US-Syria ties.
Syria remains like a dormant volcano. It could erupt. It could be peaceful. The visit by Shaibani to Washington is designed to be a game-changer, bringing peace to Syria. Syrian state media SANA has detailed many of the recent meetings that Shaibani held in Washington.
For instance, on Saturday, September 20, he met with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Syria’s Foreign Ministry said that the talks focused on “strengthening dialogue and fostering greater understanding between cultures.”
Shaibani raised the Syrian flag at the country’s embassy in Washington. This is a symbolic act that illustrates how Damascus is coming in from the cold. US Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack has aided the new administration in Damascus in its efforts to navigate the US capital. For instance, he accompanied the Syrian diplomat in meetings with US Treasury and State Department officials, according to reports.
Syria’s Achievements in US Visit
What is important in this visit, and worth paying attention to, is the types of meetings that the Syrian foreign minister is having on the hill. For instance, he has met several key US senators and Congressional members who have played a role in US-Syria policy.
He met with Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Roger Wicker, Chris Coons, Joni Ernst, Jacky Rosen, Markwayne Mullin, Richard Blumenthal, and Andy Kim.
“Syria’s economy is in crisis, and its authorities need financial resources to maintain basic functions of governance … If we are too slow to act, we risk plunging Syrians back into conflict, which is in no one’s interest except for Russia and Iran,” Shaheen said. Shaibani also met US Representatives Abe Hamadeh and Joe Wilson in separate meetings.
What is important for Syria is to reintroduce itself to key US officials and politicians. Years in which Syria was in crisis due to civil war and the Assad regime was massacring people led to the country being divided and seen as a major policy challenge for the US.
For instance, during the Syrian civil war, it was common for Russia, Iran, and Turkey to meet to discuss the future of Syria. This was called the Astana process and began in 2016. That process became largely irrelevant once Assad fell from power. This is because Iran and Russia were backing Assad.
The new government has provided the West, particularly the US, with an opportunity to re-engage with Damascus. In addition to the key political and diplomatic meetings, US Central Command has also done outreach to the new government. Central Command head Admiral Brad Cooper was in Damascus in mid-August.
This matters because the US backs the SDF in eastern Syria and also plays a role at Tanf, a small garrison in southern Syria. The US continues to carry out strikes on ISIS in Syria, and these operations will require coordination with Damascus going forward.
A key question about Syria’s game-changing visit to Washington and New York is what will come next. Damascus wants all US sanctions permanently lifted. However, there are also concerns about stability in Syria. Clashes with the Druze in Suweida in July led to a crisis in which the southern province has largely been cut off from Damascus control.
A roadmap between the US, Jordan, and Syria could help pave the way for change in Suweida. However, this will likely require Israel also to acquiesce.
What Happens Next?
In the past, Israel has bombed Damascus to deter attacks on the Druze, and this has had the effect of encouraging some Druze leaders in Syria to seek more autonomy. The clashes with the Druze have also led to reticence in eastern Syria among Kurdish forces, who play a key role in the SDF, to accept direct control by Damascus.
A roadmap agreed to for eastern Syria in March is also moving slowly forward, at a pace much slower than Syria’s new government would likely prefer.
Therefore, the major question arising from the trip to Washington is whether Damascus can thread the needle in policy in both southern Syria and eastern Syria.
About the Author: Seth Frantzman
Seth Frantzman is the author of The October 7 War: Israel’s Battle for Security in Gaza (2024) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is a Senior Middle East Analyst for The Jerusalem Post. Seth is now a National Security Journal Contributing Editor.
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Jim
September 26, 2025 at 12:19 pm
What is done is done. Stabilization and reduction of violence should be the first order of business.
While the article discusses the diplomatic process at the international level, on the ground sectarian violence is still common. It’s chaotic with various groups taking actions independent of the recognized government.
While lightly touched upon in the article, the contest for influence and control between the various parties has resulted in a crazy-quilt patchwork of local militias with disparate agendas.
And there is conflict between the major outside powers who are involved on the ground, Turkey, Israel, and the United States.
The international diplomatic choreography performed at the U. N. General Assembly and environs wallpapers over serious cracks and fissures and stresses in Syria and between the outside powers, themselves.
Peace to the People of Syria, they’ve suffered much for over a decade, not of their own making.
But forced on them by outside powers. Can these same outside powers bring peace and stability?
That remains to be seen.