Overview

Since Ahmed al‑Sharaa took office on 29 January 2025, he has mounted an energetic diplomatic offensive—21 public trips to 13 countries, a UN General Assembly appearance and meetings with major powers including three encounters with Donald Trump and a high‑profile interview with Gen. David Petraeus. The international reset has brought pledges of Gulf investment (Saudi Arabia more than $6bn, Qatari help for oil and gas) and moves toward lifting remaining US sanctions, while joint intelligence operations with the US have located ISIS caches. Yet Syria’s central bank says it still cannot reliably calculate GDP, and foreign capital will depend on visible progress in reconciliation, sanctions relief and internal stability.

External pressure and security threats remain the main obstacles. Israel has carried out nearly 1,000 airstrikes and hundreds of incursions, raising fears in Damascus of deliberate weakening and southern fragmentation; proposals for a demilitarised zone and US pressure on Israel have surfaced. In the north, the planned integration of roughly 70,000 SDF fighters — who control about 25% of the country — into a national army has stalled amid Turkish distrust and Kurdish demands for autonomy, while talks inside Turkey over the Kurdish question will shape outcomes in Syria. After years as a battleground for outside actors, Syria faces a tenuous path back to sovereignty under Sharaa’s leadership, with major gains still conditional on managing outside meddling and internal trust‑building as reported by The Guardian