The name of the former Syrian diplomat, Bashar al-Jaafari, has returned to the forefront again, but this time away from the corridors of politics and the United Nations, after he appeared in a video clip circulating from the Russian capital, Moscow, during a special celebration of the birthday of a Syrian journalist, in his first public appearance in a long time.
The video showed Al-Jaafari sitting among a number of attendees during the celebration of journalist Akram Khozam’s birthday, which sparked widespread interaction on social media sites, especially since the man had been absent from the media and political scene for many months.
In a related context, Khozam explained, in a post on his Facebook account, that he tried to conduct television interviews with Ali Mamlouk and Jamil Al-Hassan, and also sought to hold a meeting with Al-Jaafari, but all of these attempts have not succeeded so far.
Al-Jaafari is considered one of the most prominent diplomatic figures whose name is associated with the former Syrian regime, as he served as Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations for many years, before he was appointed as his country’s ambassador to Moscow, where he defended the Syrian regime’s policies in international forums during the war years.
His last prominent public appearance was in December 2024, when he gave a speech from the headquarters of the Syrian embassy in Moscow in which he declared his support for political change in the country, and attacked the previous regime, describing it as a “mafiosi system,” calling for giving the new administration an opportunity to manage the next stage.
In April 2025, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the termination of his duties as ambassador to Russia and summoned him to Damascus, but he refused to return and applied for official asylum in Russia, accompanied by his family members, before he completely disappeared from sight.
