For the first time in nearly 60 years, a Syrian president addresses UN

United Nations — Turning the page on decades of distance, Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa addressed the U.N. General Assembly, marking the first time any Syrian president has done so in almost 60 years.

“Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world,” he told the assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders.

The Assad family dynasty’s autocratic, repressive 50-year rule in Syria abruptly collapsed in December, when then-President Bashar Assad was ousted in a lightning insurgent offensive led by al-Sharaa. Assad’s fall ended nearly 14 years of civil war.

Mroue reported from Beirut.