UK reestablishes Syria ties 8 months after fall of Assad

Angela Cullen, Bloomberg News on Jul 5, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy traveled to Damascus to renew diplomatic relations with Syria on Saturday, eight months after the overthrow of former President Bashar Assad.

It marks the first visit in 14 years by a U.K. government minister to the Arab nation, which is trying to rebuild its battered economy after Assad was toppled by a group headed by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who has taken charge.

“A stable Syria is in the U.K.’s interests, reducing the risk of irregular migration, ensuring the destruction of chemical weapons, tackling the threat of terrorism and delivering the Government’s Plan for Change,” Lammy said in a statement.

The U.K. removed the Syrian central bank and 23 other entities from a list of sanctioned institutions in March in recognition of the country’s new administration, following the collapse of Assad’s brutal regime. Western governments are rolling back a decade of sanctions on the country, which has been devastated by almost 14 years of conflict.