DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in New York on Sunday to take part in the U.N. General Assembly , the first president of Syria to do so in nearly six decades.

The last time a Syrian head of state attended the General Assembly was in 1967. That was before the 50-year rule of the Assad family dynasty, which came to an end in December when then-President Bashar Assad was ousted in a lightning insurgent offensive led by al-Sharaa. Assad’s fall also brought to an end nearly 14 years of civil war.

Since then, al-Sharaa has sought to restore ties with Arab countries and the West, where officials were initially wary of his past ties with the al-Qaida militant group . The rebel group he formerly led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was previously designated by the United Sta

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