LONDON: Israel’s attacks against Syria threaten to unleash “new crises” in the region, President Ahmad Al-Sharaa told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
Al-Sharaa, who led opposition forces in a lightning offensive to overthrow Bashar Assad late last year, became the first Syrian leader to address the UNGA in nearly 60 years.
He outlined the progress made since he came to power, and the many challenges still facing his country after more than a decade of civil war. Chief among those has been Israel’s airstrikes and military operations in Syria.
“Israeli strikes and attacks against my country continue, and Israeli policies contradict the international supporting position for Syria,” the former commander said, adding that Israel’s attacks threaten “new crises and struggles in our region.”
But despite the aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue, he said, adding: “We call on the international community to stand beside us in the face of these attacks.”
Al-Sharaa said Syria is also committed to the 1974 agreement to separate Syrian and Israeli forces through a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
As opposition fighters led by Al-Sharaa took control of Damascus in December, Israel took advantage of the tumult and seized the buffer zone, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that the disengagement pact was “over.”
Since then, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes and ground operations inside Syria, including in the center of the capital.
Tensions also flared over sectarian violence in June in Syria’s Suwayda province. Israel said it carried out airstrikes to protect the Druze minority in the region.
The US has been pushing for calm between the two countries, and this week Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said they are getting closer to a new de-escalation agreement.
The deal aims to stop Israel’s attacks on Syria, which in return would agree not to move any heavy equipment near the border.
Speaking at an event in New York on Tuesday, Al-Sharaa said he is hopeful that the deal will materialize, but said it is Syria that is “scared of Israel, not the other way around.”
The US has been among major international powers that have offered cautious support to Al-Sharaa’s administration, lifting some sanctions on Syria in the hope of offering an economic lifeline to drag the country out of years of chaos and bloodshed.
He used his UNGA speech to call for the complete lifting of all international sanctions “so that they no longer shackle the Syrian people.”
He also reeled off a list of achievements since he took power, guided by an approach based on diplomacy, security and economic development.
Al-Sharaa said he has put in place a political roadmap that is proceeding toward elections next month for a new parliament, and his government has overhauled civil and military institutions.
He added that he has acted against outbreaks of sectarian violence, set up fact-finding commissions and allowed access to investigative UN teams.
“I guarantee to bring to justice everyone accountable and responsible for bloodshed,” he said. “Syria has transformed from an exporter of crisis to an opportunity for peace for Syria and the region.”
Al-Sharaa’s appearance at the UN marks a remarkable political ascent from leader of an Islamist rebel group to international statesman within 10 months.
Since arriving in New York on Sunday, he has packed in high-level meetings and events, including talks with US Secretary of State Mark Rubio and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Perhaps the event that most summed up his elevation from militant to political leader was an interview on stage on Tuesday with Gen. David Petraeus, who commanded US forces during the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Petraeus’s troops detained Al-Sharaa in Iraq between 2006 and 2011 while he was fighting the American occupation there.
“His trajectory from insurgent leader to head of state has been one of the most dramatic political transformations in recent Middle Eastern history,” Petraeus told the audience, adding that he is a fan of Al-Sharaa.
