Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani addressed the UN Security Council for the first time Friday and declared the end of the Assad regime.
He urged the international community to support the “new Syria.”
“I have the honor to address you on this historic day, the day when right before this statement, the flag representing the new Syria, the Syria of freedom and dignity, was raised on the flagpole of the United Nations alongside 193 of our partners in the international community,” said al-Shaibani.
Describing the former Bashar Assad regime as responsible for “decades” of atrocities, he said: “The country plunged into darkness, and citizens were killed, tortured and systematically disappeared. Chemical weapons have been used. Millions have been displaced, and generations have been broken under the weight of pain and loss.”
Al-Shaibani said Syria was open to the world, allowing access to international institutions and planning the creation of a Transitional Justice Commission.
“Airplanes are now dropping flowers instead of barrel bombs,” he said.
He urged the lifting of sanctions, and stated that the penalties “forced Syria to play the role of an aid-dependent country rather than being a partner in global economic growth,” He argued that the sanctions enabled “illicit networks” to thrive.
Al-Shaibani also condemned Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory as “a direct threat to regional stability.” He asked the Council to pressure Israel to implement the 1974 disengagement agreement.
“Let us seize this defining moment,” he said, adding that “Syrians are ready to reshape the future of their country.”
Israel has mounted a massive air campaign against Syrian military sites since the downfall of the Assad regime in December.
The Israeli army occupied the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights in early December, violating a 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria, in a move that expanded Israel’s control over the territory, most of which it has occupied since the 1967 Middle East War.
Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, ending the regime of the Baath Party, which had been in power since 1963.