The China Mail - In UN debut, new Syria leader warns on Israel but backs dialogue

Ahmed al-Sharaa is the first Syrian president to address the annual UN General Assembly in decades, marking a rapid transformation for a former jihadist who until last year had a US bounty on his head.

Sharaa, one of the most closely watched leaders at the UN's annual week of diplomacy, said that Syria had turned a page after a half-century of rule by the Assad family.

"Syria has transformed from an exporter of crisis to an opportunity for peace," Sharaa said in an address at the General Assembly.

But he warned that Israel, which has repeatedly attacked its historic rival since the fall of Assad, was damaging the new Syria's prospects.

"I guarantee to bring to justice and hold everyone accountable who was responsible for the bloodshed," Sharaa said.

"In this context, Israeli strikes and attacks against my country continue, contradicting the international support for Syria and threatening new crises," he said.

He said that Syria was committed to a ceasefire agreement reached after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which Israel has declared at least temporarily void after Sharaa's forces toppled Assad in December.

"In the face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue, and we're committed to the Disengagement of Forces Agreement of 1974," Sharaa said.

"We call on the international community to stand beside us in the face of these attacks."

Israel has taken aggressive military action across the region after the shock of the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, the deadliest ever day for Israel.

The United States has stood beside Israel, whose devastating military campaign in Gaza has brought wide global condemnation, but President Donald Trump has broken with Israel by embracing Sharaa.

Trump met Sharaa in May in Riyadh at the urging of the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Turkey and announced a lifting of Assad-era sanctions on Syria.

Sharaa has pleased the United States by steering clear of tough talk on Israel, although he has also made clear he is not ready to recognize Israel, a key goal for the Trump administration.

- Facing former foe -

Sharaa maintained a busy schedule in New York, meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and global leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, and addressing expert audiences.

Once affiliated with Al-Qaeda, Sharaa traded his battle fatigues for neat-fitting suits and ties, but there were the occasional passing reminders of his past.

At the Concordia summit at a hotel in Times Square, Sharaa -- detained for years in Iraq -- was interviewed by David Petraeus, the former US general commanding a surge in Iraq.

Petraeus told Sharaa that he had faced criticism for disagreeing with other US policymakers on the threat posed by Sharaa's group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which Washington in July delisted as a terrorist group.

"I actually believed that we could work with these individuals, that they were nationalists -- yes, with a degree of political Islam," Petraeus said.

"Frankly what you have done since toppling the Bashar al-Assad regime has validated" the stance, Petraeus said.

Sharaa acknowledged that the two were on opposite sides in Iraq and said: "Sir, someone who has gone through war is one who knows the importance of peace."

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