UNITED NATIONS, United States, Nov 26, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The UN Security Council will visit Syria and Lebanon next week, the Slovenian mission said Tuesday, as it looks to chair the council starting in December.

The ambassadors for 15 member states are set to visit Damascus on December 4, a few days before the first anniversary of the ouster of Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

The diplomats are expected to meet new authorities there, including President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the mission told reporters.

As the United Nations works to reestablish itself in Syria, the Security Council recently lifted sanctions against al-Sharaa, a former jihadist, calling oh him to effect an inclusive transition.

Security Council officials will then travel to Beirut on December 5, heading south the next day to meet peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is set to leave the country by the end of 2027 after serving as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel since 1978.

The visit comes as Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024 -- which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah -- by continuing its strikes and maintaining forces inside its territory.