UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today called on the international community to support the Syrian people, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
He is on his first visit to the Arab country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and this is also the first visit by a UN chief to the Syrian capital since 2009.
Shortly after his arrival, Guterres spoke with Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa before taking a short tour of Damascus's Old City and visiting the famous Umayyad Mosque.
The UN secretary-general's visit to Syria comes amid the country's attempts to recover from the deadly conflict that erupted in March 2011, killing nearly half a million people and causing widespread destruction that will cost tens of billions of dollars to rebuild.
"I have just arrived in Damascus on a solidarity visit," Guterres wrote on the social network Ex at the start of his three-day visit. He added that the UN stands with Syria at this "crucial moment".
"I call on the international community to spare no effort in supporting the Syrian people," he added.
During his visit to Syria, Guterres is scheduled to visit UN forces deployed along the border with Israel.
After taking power, Ash Shaaraa said he had no desire for conflict with Israel, but Israel is suspicious of the Islamist-led Syrian government and has moved quickly to take control of the buffer zone, the AP recalls.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military facilities and periodically raids villages outside the buffer zone, sometimes leading to violent clashes with residents.
In this regard, today, the Syrian foreign minister called for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from the southern part of the country during his meeting with Guterres, reported Agence France-Presse.