Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani's diplomatic blitz reshapes the Middle East

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has emerged as a key figure in the country's diplomatic transformation since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024. His intense diplomatic activity included visits to Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and France, as well as meetings with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.

In early July, Shaibani visited the Lebanese city of Tripoli, where he was greeted by a massive crowd of supporters. Two days later, he met with Qatari officials in Doha, then welcomed Macron at Damascus International Airport – the first Western leader to visit since Assad's fall. On July 8, he joined President Ahmed al-Sharaa in a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Turkey, where Trump handed a letter initiating the process of removing Syria from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Shaibani's career began in rebel ranks. In 2011, he joined the Nusra Front, where he met Sharaa. Later, he became the head of the political bureau of the "Salvation Government" in Idlib, run by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). In 2023, he met with a FRANCE 24 journalist, showcasing the group's efforts to shed its jihadist image.

Experts note that Shaibani wields more power than any Syrian foreign minister under the Assads. He has been the chief architect of the new foreign policy, combining pragmatism with outreach to the West. However, relations with Israel remain tense – Israeli forces are expanding their occupation in southern Syria, and peace talks have stalled.

To counterbalance Israeli influence, Shaibani visited Moscow in July 2025 and met with Vladimir Putin, and later Sharaa also traveled to Russia. This rapprochement has drawn mixed reactions in Syria but is part of pragmatic policy given limited room for maneuver.