Macron will visit Syria as the first Western leader since Assad's ouster, Damascus says

Emmanuel Macron will visit Syria soon — the first Western leader to go since Bashar al-Assad was ousted in 2024.
He met Syria’s new President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Paris and says he’ll push the EU and US to lift sanctions; he’s bringing investors and French business reps.
Syria’s 14-year war has left huge devastation — nearly half a million dead, millions displaced, and hundreds of billions needed to rebuild.