Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which governs Syria, has arrived in New York, USA, to participate in the United Nations General Assembly meeting scheduled to begin this week. Syrian state media stated that this is the first time a Syrian leader has participated in UN meetings since 1967. It was also mentioned that Sharaa is scheduled to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly debate starting tomorrow. HTS took control through a military coup, ousting former President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024. HTS was previously known as the al-Nusra Front, a group that was engaged in warfare. It was a group affiliated with the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. However, in 2016, the al-Nusra Front severed ties with al-Qaeda.
Nevertheless, in July, the United States removed HTS from its list of designated terrorist organizations. The Trump administration stated that HTS was removed from the terrorist list to pave the way for efforts to rebuild Syria after its civil war. Accordingly, the United States has also lifted severe sanctions imposed against Syria. As a result, Syria now has the opportunity to re-engage with the international financial system. This has opened the path to end Syria’s isolation from the international arena.
