Zelensky arrives in Syria for talks with leadership amid Middle East war, meets with al-Sharaa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Syria on April 5, the latest in a string of visits to the Middle East in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

The Ukrainian president has toured the Gulf region in recent weeks — meeting leaders in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE — as Tehran retaliates against US-Israeli operations with drone and missile strikes across the region.

Zelensky met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria TV reported.

Following the talks, Zelensky said the meetings focused on regional developments linked to Iran, economic cooperation, and infrastructure and energy projects.

“We managed to cover everything: from security and defense issues and the situation in the region caused by developments around Iran, to energy and infrastructure cooperation between our countries,” Zelensky said.

He added that the sides would also continue working together on food security and post-war recovery issues, as well as discuss the negotiation process regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Zelensky said the talks in Damascus also included a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Syria, and Turkey. He said Ukraine is “building new relations, new opportunities, and expanding our efforts to ensure security” through cooperation with partners in the region.

“We continue our active Ukrainian diplomacy for the sake of real security and economic cooperation,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “Every nation, every region, deserves a peaceful life.”

Kyiv has sent specialists to the region to help counter expertise on shooting down Iranian Shahed drones.

The visit to Damascus is the first just leader-level visit since diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Syria were restored in September 2025, when Zelensky and al-Sharaa met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Zelensky said Ukraine supported Syria after the fall of the Assad regime and is ready to continue working with Damascus on stability and development. He said the two countries would work more closely together so that the two countries and people can become stronger, and their economies can grow.

On the previous stop in his Middle East tour, Zelensky met with his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Istanbul on April 4.

The leaders agreed on new areas of cooperation, Zelensky said after the talks, adding that Ukraine is ready to support Turkey with “expertise, technology, and experience.”

Erdogan and Zelensky also discussed projects involving gas infrastructure, including the possibility of jointly developing gas fields.

Ukraine had previously announced that it was signing 10-year defense partnerships with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

President Zelensky has explicitly tied Kyiv’s assistance to the region’s deep stocks of anti-ballistic missile interceptors, of which Ukraine is in short supply.