Ahmed al-Shara’s UN speech last week presented an idealized Syria far removed from the perilous reality.

“The president is here,” a coordinator announced, rushing to the entrance of a lavish private club in midtown Manhattan, where an impatient crowd, restless after waiting more than an hour, buzzed with anticipation for Syria’s new interim leader. Outside, the streets reverberated with both support and opposition, a reflection of the deep divisions over the warm welcome being extended to a former al-Nusra Front leader at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly—the first Syrian head of state to address the body since 1967.

The display was surreal: a one-time jihadist sharing the spotlight with US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack and Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus. Syrian president Ahmed al-Shara’s presence at the Middle East Institute’s forum, alongside other high-profile media interviews, marks Damascus’s bid for reentry into the policy world and its pursuit of international legitimacy. His pledge to revive Syria’s economy, rebuild diplomatic ties, and remake society may sound encouraging, but policymakers should retain a healthy skepticism. Shara’s rhetoric in New York City was far removed from the menacing reality still shaping Syria today.

Throughout the week, Shara crafted carefully tailored talking points aimed at persuading cynics of his self-proclaimed success in leading a “new Syria.” His UNGA speech revolved around themes of economic revival, foreign policy, and societal renewal. He even touched on controversial issues ranging from a US-backed proposal to integrate Syria’s Autonomous Administration in the north to calls for a security arrangement with Israel. Yet one subject was conveniently absent: the $10 million bounty once placed on his head for coordinating terrorist attacks against civilians.

“It is good that at one time we were in combat, and now we are in dialogue,” he remarked in a headline-grabbing interview with ex-adversary and former CIA Director David Petraeus. In his formal address to the assembly, he struck a politician’s pose and pledged to build institutions and laws that would guarantee rights for all Syrians. Seeking to distance himself from a bloody past, he urged the international community “not to judge today based on rules of the past.”

What Shara and his network of admirers refuse to confront is the stark contrast between the embellished rhetoric and reality. His promises of economic renewal and reconstruction collide with immovable obstacles: sanctions that only Congress can repeal, a country with no real capital, and a humanitarian crisis that shows no sign of easing. Agriculture and manufacturing, the pillars of Syria’s economy, were destroyed by fourteen years of civil war and foreign intervention. With nearly 90 percent of Syrians living below the poverty line, talk of recovery may as well be a fantasy.

His foreign policy pitch is equally contradictory. Shara warns that Israel could alienate America’s allies while simultaneously calling for diplomacy and a security agreement. Yet, on the ground, the regime depends on Russian firepower to impede Israeli operations, with reports of joint patrols in the northeast and southern provinces.

The claim of societal reform is the most hollow. Government-linked forces carried out the killing and persecution of minorities this past summer, as documented by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations. Meanwhile, clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces and regime troops flared again this month, underscoring the unresolved question of autonomy in the north. Despite his democratic rhetoric, Shara continues to refuse recognition of the US-backed SDF—fearing it could one day secede. Yet, alarmingly, many world leaders overlook these realities as they line up to engage with him.

Shara and the rest of his delegation arrived in New York, hoping to secure political legitimacy and financial investment. Instead, the gap between his shiny rhetoric and the unpleasant realities in Syria only widened. His first stop after the UNGA tour underscores the point: a return to Idlib—the refuge of his former terror activities and organization, now known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. Revisiting an oppressive city emptied of minorities and haunted by terrorist activity hardly signals a former jihadist ready to break away from his past. For this reason, early international engagement with Shara risks normalizing a volatile Syria absent from any meaningful reform.

Shara’s words may evoke the promise of a fresh start, but the underlying conditions remain unchanged and are arguably worse than the state of Syria before the fall of Assad. For the United States and its allies, the lesson is clear: judge Syria’s new leadership not by its empty speeches, but by concrete actions and measurable outcomes.