How top Syrian diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani’s road to Damascus is shaking the Mideast

Syria's new Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani is on an ambitious diplomatic tour—traveling to Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Washington, and Moscow—to reshape Syria's standing in the Middle East under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The former rebel official is positioning the initiative as a new chapter in regional relations. But according to France 24, Syria faces a fundamental constraint: the country's actual diplomatic leverage in an unstable region may be far weaker than these carefully choreographed visits suggest.

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