From Jihad to Downing Street: Starmer welcomes Syria’s president for historic talks

Keir Starmer has met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at Downing Street  in a landmark encounter — the first visit by a Syrian head of state to London since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the leaders “agreed that this was an important moment for the UK-Syria relationship,” with talks covering counter-terrorism, migration, the Middle East conflict, and economic reconstruction.

On the region’s deepening instability, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said the two leaders “affirmed the importance of avoiding further escalation and restoring stability,” and “discussed the need for a viable plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in the face of the severe economic impact of prolonged closure” — agreeing “to work with others to restore freedom of navigation.”

Starmer “welcomed the Syrian Government’s action against Da’esh to date and the progress made on cooperation between the UK and Syria on counter-terrorism,” the spokesperson added, and “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.”

Al-Sharaa, who rose from al-Qaeda operative and founder of Jabhat al-Nusra to leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) before becoming Syria’s president, has publicly committed to avoiding conflict with Israel and reaffirmed Syria’s commitment to the 1974 agreement.

The UK de-proscribed HTS in October 2025 and formally re-established relations with Syria in July of that year.

On Syria’s future, the two leaders “agreed that regeneration of infrastructure would be vital for Syria’s economic transition, and discussed opportunities for British businesses across several sectors to play a role in this”, No.10 said.

The meeting also comes at a delicate moment in Syria-Israel relations.

When Assad fell, Israel moved swiftly — striking Syrian military targets and pushing troops into the UN-monitored buffer zone established by the 1974 Yom Kippur War disengagement agreement.

Prime Minister Netanyahu demanded the demilitarisation of southern Syria and declared Israeli forces would remain there indefinitely.

In January 2026, Syria and Israel agreed — following US-mediated talks in Paris — to establish a joint “dedicated communication cell” for intelligence sharing and military de-escalation, the first formal contact between the two governments in over 25 years.

The possibility of Syria joining the Abraham Accords has been raised but is widely considered unlikely while the dispute over the Golan Heights continues.