Syrian President Affirms Golan Heights as Syrian Territory at UN

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa stated on Wednesday in New York that the occupied Golan Heights remain Syrian territory. He addressed the eighty-first session of the UN General Assembly, asserting that all annexation measures are null and void under existing UN Security Council resolutions.

The president emphasized that attempts to impose new facts on the ground cannot undermine Syria’s sovereignty or the rule of law. He specifically cited UN Security Council Resolution 497 as the legal basis for invalidating any annexation actions taken by Israel against the occupied Syrian region.

Al-Sharaa referenced a December 2025 UN General Assembly vote where one hundred twenty-three countries supported a resolution concerning the Golan. He thanked supporting nations and urged those who abstained to reconsider their stance on Resolution 497 to align with international law and consensus.

He accused Israel of conducting nearly five hundred air and artillery strikes alongside more than one thousand two hundred incursions. These actions included around three hundred arrests of Syrians, which he said threaten stability and revive painful memories from a past era that Syrians had barely managed to leave behind.

Damascus remains committed to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and continues calling for Israeli forces to withdraw to lines held before December 8, 2024. The president rejected Israeli attempts to impose new realities, stating such actions undermine regional security and defy global consensus on the matter.

This address marked Sharaa’s second consecutive appearance before the UN General Assembly. He previously attended the eightieth session in September 2025, becoming the first Syrian president to participate in the gathering since 1967, signaling a renewed diplomatic engagement on the international stage.