New Syrian foreign minister attends UN Security Council in first US appearance since Assad’s fall

UNITED NATIONS AP Syria s foreign minister attended a U N Precaution Council briefing Friday after raising his country s new flag at the international body s headquarters It was the first society appearance by a high-ranking Syrian establishment official in the United States since the fall of President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December Asaad al-Shibani is part of a delegation of officials from Damascus new governing body who have traveled to the United States this week in hopes of receiving relief from harsh sanctions that were imposed by America and its allies after Assad s brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in that spiraled into a civil war The brutal policies of that era deepened divisions forcing entire families to immigrate and leaving behind their hopes and dreams that were reduced to ashes al-Shibani announced in his remarks to the Safety Council However I m here in the present day to represent that new Syria His arrival marks a stunning new chapter for the war-torn country which has spent the better part of the last several decades isolated and ostracized from the rest of the world Marking the arrival of a new Syria The presence of the new Syria was evident outside the U N headquarters as al-Shibani watched the three-starred flag previously used by opposition groups replace the two-starred flag of the Assad era as the country s official emblem This flag is not a mere symbol but rather a proclamation of a new existence embodying a future that emerges from resilience and a promise of change after years of pain al-Shibani explained Members of the Shield Council the U N s preponderance powerful body welcomed the new interim minister saying his attendance is a positive step toward a more prosperous Syria But multiple countries and U N authorities warned there is still much more work to be done to heal the country s wounds Syria has moved beyond a caretaker executive to a new expanded and more diverse cabinet Geir Pedersen the U N special envoy for Syria explained the council This is an improvement from what went before Yet it is still not a fully inclusive framework for political transition And this leaves a multitude of Syrians unsure of their place in the emerging new Syria The U N s deputy humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya described the situation on the ground in Syria as among the world s largest humanitarian crises with nearly three-quarters of the population requiring assistance more than half of the country facing food insecurity and at least million people displaced Millions of refugees and internally displaced persons who have expressed their desire to return home will continue to be dissuaded by a lack of basic services and livelihood opportunities Msuya stated urging U N members to deliver the basic funding required to address these issues The US hasn t recognized the new administration yet Other Syrian bureaucrats attended meetings at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund this week in Washington but it was unclear if Trump administration leaders would meet al-Shibani during the visit Dorothy Shea the deputy U S ambassador to the U N commented in her remarks Friday that the U S continues to closely monitor the actions of the Syrian interim agents while remaining hopeful that the interim cabinet represents a positive step But she added the U S expects to see additional action and the appointment of more qualified and representative individuals to serve in critical positions President Donald Trump s administration has yet to officially recognize the current Syrian governing body of Ahmad al-Sharaa an Islamist former insurgent who led the offensive that toppled Assad The Republican administration has also left the Assad-era sanctions in place although it has provided temporary relief from chosen restrictions The militant group that al-Sharaa led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham remains a U S -designated terrorist organization While Syria has opened its doors to states and given hope to its people to return the burden of sanctions continues to threaten our stability al-Shibani informed the Shield Council When international organizations and corporations seek to invest in and rebuild our financial system they find that these sanctions that have expired stand in the way Two Republican members of the U S Congress Reps Marlin Stutzman of Indiana and Cory Mills of Florida arrived in Damascus last week on an unofficial visit organized by a Syrian-American nonprofit group and met with al-Sharaa and other leadership agents Mills described The Associated Press before meeting with al-Sharaa that ultimately it s going to be the president s decision to lift sanctions or not although he mentioned that Congress can advise Mills later reported Bloomberg News that he had discussed the U S conditions for sanctions relief with al-Sharaa including ensuring the destruction of chemical weapons left over from the Assad era coordinating on counterterrorism making a plan to deal with foreign militants who fought alongside the armed opposition to Assad and providing assurances to Israel that Syria wouldn t pose a threat He also reported that al-Sharaa had stated that Syria could normalize relations with Israel under the right conditions without specifying what those conditions are Other Western countries have warmed up to the new Syrian officers more promptly The U K cabinet on Thursday lifted sanctions against a dozen Syrian entities including administration departments and media outlets and the European Union has begun to roll back its sanctions Sewell communicated from Beirut Source