In UK visit, Syria’s Sharaa doubles down on Western ties amid Iran war, refugee pressures

As President Ahmed al‑Sharaa wrapped up his first official visit to the United Kingdom, Syria signaled a cautious recalibration of its international stance, seeking to balance relations with Western powers while navigating the fallout of the ongoing Iran war and a protracted refugee crisis.

During talks in London with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and at a Chatham House event on Tuesday, Sharaa said Syria would maintain its neutrality in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran unless directly targeted and tied any large‑scale return of displaced Syrians to progress on reconstruction, underscoring both the aims and the limits of Damascus’ renewed diplomatic outreach. 

Sharaa’s visit, his first to the UK since taking power in 2024, also included meetings at the British Parliament and with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.

In a statement, Downing Street said that Sharaa and Starmer discussed counterterrorism efforts and the issue of migration. Starmer, according to the statement, “set out how he hoped to make further progress on the issue of migration, including closer work together on returns, on border security and on tackling people smuggling networks.” They also spoke about “the regeneration of infrastructure … and discussed opportunities for British businesses across several sectors to play a role in this,” the statement read.