Syrian embassy reopens in London after 13 years

The Syrian embassy in London reopened on Thursday morning, more than a decade after its closure, marking a historic return of Syrian diplomatic services to the United Kingdom.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, visiting the UK on an official trip, presided over the ceremony at the Belgrave Square building.

Outside, hundreds of people waved Syrian flags, chanted celebratory slogans and danced to traditional music as the embassy doors opened for the first time since 2012.

Britain, alongside 10 other western countries, expelled Syrian diplomats and shut Syria's embassies after forces loyal to then-President Bashar al-Assad killed scores of men, women in children in the 2012 Houla massacre.

In December 2024, after more than a decade of civil war, Syrian rebels overthrew Assad during a lightning campaign.

The new government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, is now trying to rebuild relations with countries around the world, after a decade in which Syria was a pariah state.

Sharaa himself was in Washington this week, meeting Donald Trump in the Oval Office, becoming the first Syrian president to meet a sitting US president.

In London, Shaibani expressed hope that the embassy's reopening would usher in a new era and help Syria re-establish its role in the world.

He described the occasion as a symbolic return after years of isolation, posting on X that Syria is “returning to the world with its free identity” following a period of estrangement from the international community.

بعد سنوات من العزلة التي فرضها نظام الأسد الكيماوي، نعيد اليوم افتتاح السفارة السورية في لندن. سوريا تعود إلى العالم بهويتها الحرة. 🇸🇾 pic.twitter.com/PUBdpeyH3r

— أسعد حسن الشيباني (@AsaadHShaibani) November 13, 2025

Razan Saffour, a media and communications official at the Syrian foreign ministry, told Middle East Eye that the embassy’s return marked a turning point.

“At that time [2012, when it was shut] the UK felt like it was prime time to end diplomatic relations with Syria, and British-Syrians felt a sense of relief that the UK had cut off relations with the Assad regime," she said.

"Today, the resumption of relations with the new government signals a very positive step.”

No longer a 'source of fear'

Saffour said British-Syrian relations were beginning a new chapter.

“People will finally have representation in the UK," she said. "Previously, the embassy was actually a source of fear. But now you have an embassy which will be supporting those people in anything that they need.”

For the British-Syrian community, the reopening was an emotional and transformative occasion. Abdullah Karzoun described the day as “historic” for those who once viewed the embassy with fear and mistrust.

“We lived here for 25 years and we could not enter this embassy,” he told MEE, recalling how it had once felt like an extension of the Assad government's security apparatus. “It represented a security branch that the Syrian government had opened here.”

Karzoun said the reopening was also a moment of remembrance for those whom change had come at a terrible cost.

“This moment cost us millions of lives, torture, displacement, children becoming orphans,” he said. “But at the end of the day, that criminal [Assad] fell. Syria will witness a bright future.”

For many, the embassy’s reopening also represents a return of vital services and everyday rights long out of reach.

Wearing a scarf in the colours of the green Syrian flag that has replaced the Baathist red one, Noor al-Azam said she came to celebrate the restoration of something deeply practical and personal.

“It makes everything much easier for people to have their simple rights – applying for birth certificates, renewing our passports, doing all of that without having to travel far,” she said.

“We all waited for this moment to feel Syrian again. Today is definitely a new feeling for all these Syrians who are standing here, the beginning of a new Syria.”

Others reflected on the dramatic shift in atmosphere outside the embassy.

Heba Kusseibati, attending with her mother Safa, recalled childhood weekends spent protesting against the Assad government at the same location. Now, she said, the mood was one of joy and pride.

“We’ve got our heads held up high... it’s a big day for the rebuilding of relations between British and Syrian governments and the rebuilding of Syria in general,” Kusseibati said.

Her mother, echoing the sentiment, added: “I was afraid to say that I am Syrian. Now I raise my head and say to everyone I am a Syrian. I can now proudly go back to Syria and breathe freely there.”

Additional reporting by Reem Aouir and Areeb Ullah