Transition

The High Committee for People’s Assembly Elections launches official website. (SANA)

Transparency pledged in first post-Assad elections

30 August 2025. The Supreme Committee for People’s Assembly Elections launched its official website, pledging a “comprehensive plan to ensure transparency” ahead of Syria’s first parliamentary vote since Assad’s fall. Both Syrian and international organizations will monitor the vote, as well as lawyers for each district, which Committee spokesperson Nawar Najma called “an unprecedented step aimed at enhancing integrity.” Observers say the vote will test Syria’s commitment to reform and public trust in elections.Read more at: LEVANT24

Former US Ambassador Barbara Leaf offers insights about Syria’s transition. (Alarabiya English video still, 21 August)

Assessing Syria’s emergence after decades of Assad control

21 August 2025. In a video interview, Barbara Leaf, a high-level US diplomat who met with Ahmad al-Sharaa following the fall of Assad, reflects on the historic Syrian transition, calling it a “once in a generation” opportunity for change. Acknowledging the challenges of reconstruction and reconciliation, given the distrust and sectarian conflict fuelled by the Assad regime, she praises the new government’s avoidance of widespread violence.Read more at: ALARABIYA

President al-Sharaa pledges to protect minorities in Suwayda. (TOI YouTube video still 21 July)

“Syria is tired of war”—in need of dialogue, not bloodshed

17 August 2025. As demonstrations broke out in Suwayda, President al-Sharaa declared: “Syria is tired of war.” Speaking in a dialogue session with notables and officials from Idlib, he rejected division and partition, calling for unity through dialogue and understanding—not force. With Druze protestors demanding self-determination while waving the Israeli flag, he accused Israel of intervening directly in Suwayda’s unrest. The president acknowledged violence from all sides in the July Suwayda clashes and affirmed that all perpetrators would be held to account.Read more at: FRANCE 24

TOP: President Ahmad al-Sharaa greets delegates from Idleb to first in series of national meetings. (SANA) BOTTOM: Participants at Idleb meeting, August 13, 2025. (SANA)

A new chapter of Syrian life begins with dialogue

13 August 25. Honouring his commitment to engage in direct dialogue with the Syrian people and listen to their concerns, President Ahmad al-Sharaa met with community leaders and officials in Idleb. He acknowledged Idleb for its pioneering of institutions that form the new Damascus government, calling it “a fundamental pillar for launching the project of a modern national state in Syria.” A wide range of questions and concerns from participants elicited commitments from the president and information about plans for the country.Read more at: SANA

SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi reveals agenda for talks about unification. (Al Arabiya-Screenshot, 29 July)

Forthcoming talks in Paris arouse new hope for Syria’s military and political integration

29 July 2025. Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Abdi Mazloum, confirmed that upcoming Paris talks will focus on a mechanism for integrating the SDF into Syria’s Ministry of Defence. The goal will be deciding on the means to implement the agreement he signed in March with interim president al-Sharaa. “We agree with the government on a unified Syria under one army and one flag,” Abdi said, while acknowledging unresolved issues. He welcomed Saudi Arabia’s role as a mediator.Read More at: ENAB BALADI

Elections chairman, Mohammed Taha al Ahmad, reports on electoral reforms to make Syria’s People’s Assembly more representative and responsive. (SANA)

Syria aims for transparent and inclusive national elections in September

27 July 2025. Following meetings with leading figures in diverse sectors of Syrian society, the chairman of the Higher Committee of People’s Assembly Elections presented recommendations for sweeping electoral reforms to President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who stressed the goal of overcoming division and sectarianism. The reforms aim to create a People’s Assembly “worthy of Syria’s leadership, land, and sacrifices,” the chairman said, one that will advance reconstruction and development. The elections will be monitored by local communities and international organizations.Read More at: SANA

Syria’s Minister of Information, Dr. Hamza al-Mustafa. (SANA)

Frustration with international media coverage of Syria’s transition

24 July 2025. Syria’s information minister expressed deep dissatisfaction with international media outlets for their formulaic responses to the nation’s recovery. Despite unprecedented access to information and services granted by the ministry, in the hope of gaining objective coverage of a country undergoing a complex transition, he found that entrenched and biased views of Syria and the Middle East have persisted. The minister highlighted the profound responsibility of journalism, especially in critical times, “to pursue truth with integrity, and to remain open to facts, rather than clinging to ready-made judgments…”Read more at: SANA

The Power of Understanding

The word ‘understand’ carries several meanings, but one of the most significant ones is the ability to show a sympathetic or tolerant attitude toward others. Achieving this kind of understanding is a result of our collective evolution—an expression of the wisdom born from the union of heart and mind.

French president Macron and President of AKDN, Rahim Aga Khan, meet in Paris to sign Syrian aid agreement. (Aga Khan Development Network facebook, 12 July)

A consortium of private international agencies pledges support for Syria with French cooperation

11 July 2025. Meeting in Paris, President Emmanuel Macron and Rahim Aga Khan of the AKDN, signed an agreement to cooperate for a “successful and peaceful transition in Syria, to protect human dignity, to enhance resilience, and to resettle displaced people.” Areas of cooperation include responding to urgent humanitarian needs and investing in the foundations for sustainable and long-term development in key sectors of the country.Read more at: SANA

France’s UN ambassador calls for cooperative global efforts to safeguard Syria’s progress. (Photo: SANA)

France urges immediate, coordinated global action to support Syria’s transition

18 June 2025. Jérôme Bonnafont, France’s Permanent Representative to the UN, called for urgent global action to safeguard Syria’s fragile transition and to “offer the country a chance to become a hub of regional stability.” In a June 12th statement to the UN’s General Assembly, he wrote: “France stands alongside the Syrian people to ensure that the immense hopes raised since December 2024 are not disappointed.” Read more at: SANA

New Face of Syria