section_path: Presidency (2025–present)/Early actions
section_name: Early actions
paragraph_text: Early actions
  
  On 30 January 2025, a day after appointing al-Sharaa as president, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the first head of state to visit Damascus since the fall of the Assad regime, discussing post-conflict reconstruction in Syria and other topics. and on 8 February, a delegation from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, led by Director-General Fernando Arias, visited Damascus to meet with al-Sharaa for the first time since Assad's overthrow.
  
  On 12 February, al-Sharaa held a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin, in what was the latter's first contact with a Syrian head of state since Assad's overthrow. On the same day, al-Sharaa met with representatives of the Syrian National Coalition and the Syrian Negotiation Commission, including their respective presidents, Hadi al-Bahra and Bader Jamous, and it was announced that both organizations would dissolve within the new authorities. On 17 February, al-Sharaa made his first official trip to the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, which were former strongholds of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad, and on 21 February, he met with China's ambassador to Damascus, Shi Hongwei, which marked the first official interaction between the two nations since Assad's overthrow.
  
  On 23 February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda, and the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Syrian territory south of Damascus. Al-Sharaa rejected Netanyahu's demands. Hours later, Israel conducted a wave of airstrikes in Damascus and southern Syria. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz characterized al-Sharaa as "a jihadist terrorist from the Al-Qaeda school, committing atrocities against the Alawite civilian population."
  
  On 25 February, in a speech at the Syrian National Dialogue Conference, al-Sharaa emphasized unity and cooperation, urging support for Syria in overcoming its hardships and expressing confidence that others would not abandon it. He also announced plans to establish a transitional justice committee and stressed the need for armed groups to integrate into the military, while ensuring that the state maintains a monopoly on weapons.
  
  In March 2025, al-Sharaa signed an agreement with Druze representatives from Suwayda province. This agreement integrated the community into state institutions while granting certain concessions, including locally recruited Druze police forces and recognition of their distinct cultural identity. On 29 March, al-Sharaa announced the formation of the Syrian transitional government during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Damascus. During the event, the newly appointed ministers took their oaths and presented their plans. It replaced the Syrian caretaker government, which had been established after the fall of the Assad regime.
  
  On 18 April, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with al-Sharaa in Damascus, his first visit to Syria since 2009. They discussed strengthening bilateral ties and regional developments, including Gaza and the two-state solution, and agreed to form joint committees for cooperation. On 17 May, al-Sharaa signed Presidential Decrees No. 19 and No. 20, appointing Abdulbaset Abdullatif and Mohammad Reda Jalkhi as heads of the commission. They were given 30 days to form a working team and draft the internal regulations required for the commission's operation, leading to the establishment of the National Commissions for Missing Persons and Transitional Justice.
  
  On 6 June, al-Sharaa visited Daraa Governorate for the first time since the fall of the Assad regime, coinciding with Eid al-Adha. On 13 June, al-Sharaa signed Presidential Decree No. 66, creating an 11-member Supreme Committee to oversee the formation of sub-committees that will elect two-thirds of the People's Assembly.