Syria’s new president appears to receive a warm welcome in former Assad strongholds 

Waving from the sunroof of a black vehicle surrounded by a large, cheering crowd, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa appeared in a video to receive something of a hero’s welcome in his first visit to Latakia, once the stronghold of the Assad family whose brutal regime he helped topple just more than two months ago.

Later that Sunday, Sharaa visited Tartus, another Assad stronghold about 50 miles south along the Mediterranean Sea, where video showed him waving from a balcony as hundreds of people cheered below.

The two videos, shared on social media and verified by NBC News, emerged as Sharaa’s government touted a successful visit to both port cities, with experts describing the scenes as marking a pivotal moment in the rebel leader’s campaign to prove he can deliver on his promise to build a more unified Syria.

“After spending time across Syria, Sharaa’s celebrity-like status was genuinely palpable — across ethnic, religious & gender communities,” Charles Lister, a senior fellow and head of the Syria Initiative at the Middle East Institute, said in a post on X on Sunday, reacting to video of Sharaa’s reception.

“This is an outpouring of goodwill and a sense of optimism in what he may be able to deliver for the country,” Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, told NBC News on Monday. But, she also cautioned that these jubilant scenes were likely “carefully choreographed to capture the enthusiasm that he has summoned across the country, even in ex-regime strongholds.”

In addition to meeting with representatives in Tartus and Latakia, Sharaa also met with prominent figures in Aleppo province earlier Sunday, according SANA, Syria’s state news agency. His visit to Aleppo came after he met with community leaders from his former stronghold of Idlib province in northwestern Syria, the news agency reported. Sharaa visited Idlib city, as well as camps hosting hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the Assad regime, according to SANA.

Western nations have kept a close and cautious eye on Sharaa’s rise as they weigh his past as a former jihadist leader with links to the Islamic State terrorist group and Al Qaeda against the image he has sought to project as a reformed figurehead vowing to lead an inclusive Syria representative of the country’s diversity of religious and ethnic communities.

In the just over two months since Sharaa and his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, rebel group led the overthrow of dictator Bashar al-Assad, there have already been flashes of doubt that the new administration could step away from its Islamist leanings.

But Sharaa, who has shown a willingness to recalibrate in the face of criticism, has also made noticeable headway in his efforts to reassure Western leaders that he seeks a future for Syria that does not pose a threat to the West.

“There are skeptics both inside the country and outside who continue to see red flags around the ‘transition’,” Ozcelik said, noting that these are still early days in Sharaa’s leadership.

But, she added, “it may be wise to pause for a moment and consider the possibility that this is a genuine transformation, and in the interest of the Syrian people, its neighbors and the international community.”

With much of his schedule dominated by calls with counterparts around the world and media interviews with international outlets, that is certainly the impression Sharaa has sought to build.

In a statement last week, the office of outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had spoken with Sharaa, with the two leaders agreeing on “the importance of an inclusive political process to ensure lasting peace and stability for all Syrians.”

Sharaa also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. The Kremlin, which heavily backed the Assad regime throughout Syria’s deadly civil war, including through military intervention, described the discussion as “constructive and businesslike” and covering “acute issues of practical cooperation in trade and economic, education and other spheres” as it seeks to continue the use of naval and air bases inside Syria.

The call followed a visit to Damascus by a delegation of Russian officials last month, marking the first such trip since Assad’s overthrow. The dictator was granted asylum by Moscow, Russian state media has reported.