Syria has embarked upon a novel expedition in the post Assad era where it strives to ensure its resurgence into the liberal international world order and strategically sail away from the prolonged isolation. Damascus seeks to spur a strategic dawn in order to transform the extant national narrative and calibrate a cautious diplomatic tactic to shed over the past plights that still jolts the Syrian society.
President Al Sharaa charismatically orchestrated a regime transition by efficiently capitalizing on the tumultuous wave of frustration among the populace of Syria against Assad’s draconian dictatorship which lasted around for five long decades. This article tries to trace the calculated endeavor of Syria under President Al Sharaa who strives to leverage the lucrative International Order to soothe out the shocks that Syria still suffers.
Why Syria wants to integrate itself into International Sphere
In this extant transnational order, diplomatic and economic isolation severs a state’s minute means of survival and in order for a state to survive it is essential to align with this rule based international system. The Syrian economy is in teeters and reintegration is the vital and indispensable step to revitalize the economic posture of Syria by securing foreign investments that are essential to enable large scale reconstruction efforts and reset the stalled economy. Another fundamental pursuit that is essential to steer Syria’s economy towards stability is the abrogation of punitive sanctions and restoration of frozen foreign assets through integration into the International Order.
This is solely feasible under the international tutelage that can grant legitimacy to this new government in Syria and scrap the pariah status to secure any fallouts that could lead to a further collapse. The subsequent formation of the interim parliament was carved post the National Dialogue Conference (that is also bestowed with the responsibility of charting a new constitution and planning the prerequisites to hold elections) appointed Ahmed al Sharaa to lead this transitional administration. Since his appointment on 29th of Jan, 2025 he has remained committed to pursue pragmatic diplomacy that determines the aspirations of this new age Syria.
Al Sharaa’s Arab centric Approach
President Al Sharaa has persistently reassured the populace of Syria that he strives to restore and resolve the roadblock that restricts Syria’s recalibration into the International Order. Since the very first week into the power, his proactive measure to pragmatically engage with the regional power reflects his pro Westward alignment that stood stark apart from the traditional Syrian approach. Moreover, it is imperative to underscore that his personal affinity with pan- Arab ideals especially Ba’athism and former affiliation with the Islamist militant faction Al Qaeda shapes his current rhetoric.
An Arab centric approach is much pronounced in his diplomatic dealing and also since his takeover in January, he has renounced staunch conservatism and showcased a much more secular approach to sail Syria out of turmoil. Although his cabinet appears inclusive, a few personalities (past loyalists) with a history of Jihadist extremism continue to influence the current council. These extremist elements remain a core source of concern among the secular Syrians who fear a potential extremist resurgence. Though the remnants of his extremist identity are at bay now yet a slight evidence of Sunni supremacist attitude persists that is sheerly evident as he tries to realign the Syrian trajectory away from the Tehran- Moscow clout.
This reassertion or realignment towards a pro- Arab clout has reaped substantial positive outcomes for Syria as it enabled a potential pathway towards the liberal world order. His foremost international visit was destined to the Arab capital of Riyadh where he embraced his very first bilateral meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in February, 2025. He concluded this first official tour in Ankara where he tuned bilateral ties with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Essence of Pragmatism towards Middle East
Soon after, he landed in the United Arab Emirate in the month of April where he met the President of United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan along with his accompanying delegation. This cautious choice of initial official tours set the trail towards a tangible realignment and reintegration in the Arab vicinity. Likewise, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani was the first foreign head who landed in Syria following Assad’s ouster in January, 2025. It also marks the inception of a deliberate distancing from the Shia sphere of influence.
In the past half year, many heads of state and foreign leaders like the French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have landed in Damascus. Additionally, the King of Jordan and the President of Palestine along with the Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt have also embraced Damascus with their visit. This typical thaw in ties with the Arab leaders precisely marks a substantial shift from the previous Syrian approach.
Along with Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait President Al Sharaa also took his first official European trip to Paris in May 2025, where he engaged with the French President Emanuel Macron. Moreover, the historic landing of South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae Hyul in Damascus on the 10th of April marks the inception of formal diplomatic relations among Syria and South Korea. This meeting solidified diplomatic ties with the signing of a joint statement with the Syrian counterpart Assad al Shibani and Minister Cho exhibited a willingness ‘to share South Korea’s development experience to support Syrian reconstruction’.
Economic Concessions for Syria
These diplomatic overtures are not merely to fine tune the diplomatic discords rather it transpires into tangible gains in terms of economic concessions for Syria. In April 2025, Saudi Arabia along with UAE paid $15.5 billion debt to the World Bank, which enables an avenue for Syria to secure future grants for reconstruction. They also committed to jointly fund the salaries of state employees in Syria. This typical gesture of goodwill marked the breakthrough of a novel reconciliation and tactfully relaunched Syria into the international sphere.
Likewise, Qatar also pledged a proactive contribution in reconstruction of Syria. In early January, Qatar along with Turkey dispatched a couple of power ships to Syria that are capable of generating approximately 800 megawatts of power a day. Later, in March, Qatar initiated supply of natural gas via Jordan which facilitated Syria to restore operation at the Deir Ali and Jandar power stations to curtail the energy fluctuation.
Geopolitics in play
A key milestone in this endeavor of realignment came amid the Middle East voyage of the U.S. President Trump in the month of May where he met with President Al Sharaa in Riyadh. This cordial interaction marks a historic diplomatic thaw among the United States and Syria since the Geneva Summit in March 2000 where negotiations stalled among President Clinton and former President Hafez al Assad as they remained inconclusive over sovereignty of the Golan heights. This rapprochement marks the inception of a novel Syrian approach towards the liberal International Order and a tangible tilt towards the Western fold as it seeks to shed off the longstanding pariah status.
Moreover, a ‘consequential effort’ as noted Dr. Neil Quilliam, an Associate Fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, in facilitating this meeting was initiated by the Saudi Crown Prince Salman and the Turkish President Erdogan as they remain keen to counter any sort of Shia influence over this strategic location of Levant and essentially choking Iran’s indirect access with the militant proxy forces present in this region. Besides, both Riyadh and Ankara, even Washington, seek to secure lucrative economic opportunities through reconstruction contracts as they are keen to exploit the strategic leverage of Levant in terms of location as well as (Hydrocarbon) resources.
Al Sharaa’s Westward tilt
In addition, President Trump perceived President Al Sharaa as the ‘Real Leader’ and showered boastful praises for him and pledged to revoke all punitive sanctions against Syria which indicated towards a comprehensive ‘Syria policy’ of Washington in this post Assad era. Soon after, on 30th June, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions’ that annulled a series of prolonged sanctions to ensure a pragmatic mobility of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in vital sectors like real estate. This followed the initial momentum spurred with the the issuance of the Syria General License (GL) 25 and a Caesar Act waiver in May 2025 that granted 180 day waiver enabling temporary suspension of specific sanctions under the Caesar Act.
Similar sanction relief by the European Union and the United Kingdom have also transpired which had crippled the Syrian economy considerably since the 2011 Civil War. The council of the European Union on 28 of May , 2025 uplifted sanctions by legally abrogating most of them, imposed against the Syrian state and delisted about 24 entities from its asset freeze list, including the Central Bank of Syria and key oil giants.
The Vice President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas noted that “At this historic time, for the EU to genuinely support Syria’s recovery and a political transition that fulfills the aspirations of all Syrians”. Similar measures are embraced by the United Kingdom as well by delisting entities and defreezing assets through amending resolution under ‘The Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2025’ effective from April 2025. However, a series of punitive measures are yet to be lifted by both EU and UK that spans from arms embargo to specific sanctions against individuals as well as entities like interdiction against the current transitional President Al-Sharaa persists.
The United Nations as well has upheld targeted sanctions against the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) also known as Jabhat al-Nusrah and only very recently, on 8th of July the U.S. Department of State has unlisted HTS from their Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list.
It is imperative to note that an economically viable Syria will emerge as a relatively moderate and a strategic partner in the Levant thereby compelling Syria to abide by an internationally compliant posture is essential. More recently, the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy flew down to Damascus to meet President Al Sharaa and this meeting marks cessation of 14 years of diplomatic deadlock and reaffirms London’s solidarity with this new regime in Syria. The UK’s commitment towards upliftment of Syria was solidified with a pledged aid assistance worth approx 94.5 million pounds ($129 million) aimed at immediate humanitarian needs of Syrians. This aims to assist in comprehensive recovery of the Syrian populace through education and livelihood assistance.
Alongwith, President Al Sharaa’s latest trip to Azerbaijan has bolstered this Westward tilt where he efficiently managed to secure a Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) with the state owned oil giant, SOCAR, that has the potential to satiate the natural gas needs of Syria. It would facilitate about 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually to Syria via Turkey that is essential in reconstruction and normalizing the supply demand of Syria. This recalibration effort is much more nuanced than simple integration that seeks to re-anchor Syria’s stance with the geopolitical landscape of West Asia.
Conclusion
This diplomatic and economic integration is substantially altering the political climate of West Asia and the whole of the International Order. Such diplomatic recalibration coupled with economic incentivisation seeks to counter Tehran and Moscow’s strategic depth in the landscape of Levant. The Russian delegation tested their foothold in this new age Syria in late January to deliberate over the Russian military bases by the Mediterranean shore of Syria but they failed to secure any tangible accomplishments. Rather, President Trump is hopeful about integrating Syria into the Abraham Accord normalization fold (with Israel) in the upcoming future.
Moreover, the admission of President Al Sharaa in the Arab world and the broader International Order holds a symbolic significance in the global arena because he asserts a staunch anti-Iranian-Russian posture and an unstable Syria has the potential to jolt the immediate periphery and far beyond Damascus. Hence, it is imperative for Syria to cautiously calibrate its alignment to effectively soak up the shockwaves of this regime change and curate a pragmatic pathway for its future.
