French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Monday in Syria, making him the first major western leader to visit the war-torn country since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited April, but Macron is the first leader from western Europe or North America to do so. The French president’s visit comes during a period of relative calm in the Middle East after the monthlong war in Iran and Lebanon, before attending the NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is also expected to attend the summit and hold a high-profile meeting with US President Donald Trump.
