Macron expected in Syria in first post-Assad visit by Western leader, Damascus says

Syria on Sunday said it was expecting a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, the first by a Western European head of state since the 2024 toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

State news agency SANA, citing the Syrian presidency's media office, said "Macron is expected to visit Syria to discuss ways of strengthening bilateral relations and issues of common interest", without specifying a date for the trip.

It said he would be accompanied by a delegation "including investors and representatives of French companies" as part of efforts to strengthen economic cooperation.

Discussions would also address "regional and international" developments, it added.

The French presidency did not immediately comment on the trip.

The last French president to visit was Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, before Assad's government brutally crushed pro-democracy protests in 2011, sparking a prolonged conflict that killed more than half a million people and devastated Syria's infrastructure and industry.

Early last year, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani became the first foreign head of state to visit Damascus after the new authorities led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa took power.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen visited in January this year, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky followed in April.

But Macron is the first head of an EU state and prominent Western leader to head to the Syrian capital, after hosting Sharaa in Paris last year.

The announcement came after a bombing on Thursday at a Damascus cafe killed 10 people, the latest challenge to Syria's new authorities as they seek to reunify the country after more than 13 years of civil war.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)