diff --git a/src/conn.c b/src/conn.c
index f6adfa55d..ea019c1ae 100644
--- a/src/conn.c
+++ b/src/conn.c
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ static void raft_connect(struct conn *c)
 	/* Close the connection without actually closing the transport, since
 	 * the stream will be used by raft */
 	c->closed = true;
+	gateway__close(&c->gateway);
 	closeCb(&c->transport);
 }
 
@@ -311,7 +312,7 @@ int conn__start(struct conn *c,
 	c->transport.data = c;
 	c->uv_transport = uv_transport;
 	c->close_cb = close_cb;
-	gateway__init(&c->gateway, config, registry, raft, seed);
+	gateway__init(&c->gateway, config, loop, registry, raft, seed);
 	rv = buffer__init(&c->read);
 	if (rv != 0) {
 		goto err_after_transport_init;
diff --git a/src/gateway.c b/src/gateway.c
index 845e992ed..31320ba1a 100644
--- a/src/gateway.c
+++ b/src/gateway.c
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 void gateway__init(struct gateway *g,
 		   struct config *config,
+		   uv_loop_t *loop,
 		   struct registry *registry,
 		   struct raft *raft,
 		   struct id_state seed)
@@ -34,6 +35,10 @@ void gateway__init(struct gateway *g,
 	g->protocol = DQLITE_PROTOCOL_VERSION;
 	g->client_id = 0;
 	g->random_state = seed;
+	g->defer = (uv_timer_t){};
+	if (loop != NULL) {
+		uv_timer_init(loop, &g->defer);
+	}
 }
 
 void gateway__leader_close(struct gateway *g, int reason)
@@ -96,6 +101,11 @@ void gateway__leader_close(struct gateway *g, int reason)
 void gateway__close(struct gateway *g)
 {
 	tracef("gateway close");
+
+	if (g->defer.loop != NULL) {
+		uv_close((uv_handle_t *)&g->defer, NULL);
+	}
+
 	if (g->leader == NULL) {
 		stmt__registry_close(&g->stmts);
 		return;
@@ -718,6 +728,14 @@ static void handle_exec_sql_next(struct gateway *g,
 				 struct handle *req,
 				 bool done);
 
+static void handle_exec_sql_next_defer_cb(uv_timer_t *t)
+{
+	struct gateway *g = t->data;
+	PRE(g != NULL && g->req != NULL);
+	PRE(g->req->type == DQLITE_REQUEST_EXEC_SQL);
+	handle_exec_sql_next(g, g->req, true);
+}
+
 static void handle_exec_sql_cb(struct exec *exec, int status)
 {
 	tracef("handle exec sql cb status %d", status);
@@ -727,12 +745,27 @@ static void handle_exec_sql_cb(struct exec *exec, int status)
 	req->exec_count += 1;
 	sqlite3_finalize(exec->stmt);
 
-	if (status == SQLITE_DONE) {
-		handle_exec_sql_next(g, req, true);
-	} else {
+	if (status != SQLITE_DONE) {
 		assert(g->leader != NULL);
 		failure(req, status, error_message(g->leader->conn, status));
 		g->req = NULL;
+		return;
+	}
+
+	/* It would be valid to always invoke handle_exec_sql_next directly
+	 * here. But that can lead to bounded recursion when we have several
+	 * `;`-separated statements in a row that do not generate rows. To make
+	 * sure the stack depth stays under control, we defer have the event
+	 * loop invoke handle_exec_sql_next itself on the next iteration, but
+	 * only if there is a prior call to handle_exec_sql_next above us on
+	 * the stack. We also invoke handle_exec_sql_next directly if the
+	 * gateway doesn't have access to an event loop (this is only the case
+	 * in the unit tests). */
+	if (exec->async || g->defer.loop == NULL) {
+		handle_exec_sql_next(g, req, true);
+	} else {
+		g->defer.data = g;
+		uv_timer_start(&g->defer, handle_exec_sql_next_defer_cb, 0, 0);
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/src/gateway.h b/src/gateway.h
index 2a5805084..e3f198990 100644
--- a/src/gateway.h
+++ b/src/gateway.h
@@ -35,10 +35,22 @@ struct gateway {
 	uint64_t protocol;           /* Protocol format version */
 	uint64_t client_id;
 	struct id_state random_state; /* For generating IDs */
+	/* The EXEC_SQL request handler uses this to defer work to the next
+	 * loop iteration, to avoid recursion when processing multi-statement
+	 * SQL strings. */
+	uv_timer_t defer;
 };
 
+/**
+ * Initialize a gateway.
+ *
+ * Passing NULL for the `loop` is permitted. Currently the loop is only used
+ * optionally to break potential recursion when handling an EXEC_SQL request
+ * that containss multiple `;`-separated statements.
+ */
 void gateway__init(struct gateway *g,
 		   struct config *config,
+		   uv_loop_t *loop,
 		   struct registry *registry,
 		   struct raft *raft,
 		   struct id_state seed);
diff --git a/src/leader.c b/src/leader.c
index 61ef91639..0b4a4f23e 100644
--- a/src/leader.c
+++ b/src/leader.c
@@ -295,6 +295,7 @@ static void leaderApplyFramesCb(struct raft_apply *req,
 finish:
 	l->inflight = NULL;
 	l->db->tx_id = 0;
+	l->exec->async = true;
 	leaderExecDone(l->exec);
 }
 
@@ -439,6 +440,8 @@ static void execBarrierCb(struct barrier *barrier, int status)
 	struct exec *req = barrier->data;
 	struct leader *l = req->leader;
 
+	req->async = req->barrier.async;
+
 	if (status != 0) {
 		l->exec->status = status;
 		leaderExecDone(l->exec);
@@ -505,6 +508,7 @@ static void raftBarrierCb(struct raft_barrier *req, int status)
 		return;
 	}
 	barrier->cb = NULL;
+	barrier->async = true;
 	cb(barrier, rv);
 }
 
@@ -514,6 +518,7 @@ int leader__barrier(struct leader *l, struct barrier *barrier, barrier_cb cb)
 	int rv;
 	if (!needsBarrier(l)) {
 		tracef("not needed");
+		barrier->async = false;
 		cb(barrier, 0);
 		return 0;
 	}
diff --git a/src/leader.h b/src/leader.h
index 9d022d3e9..d2ea80602 100644
--- a/src/leader.h
+++ b/src/leader.h
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ struct barrier {
 	void *data;
 	struct leader *leader;
 	struct raft_barrier req;
+	/* When the callback is invoked, this field is `true` if raft_barrier
+	 * was called and `false` if the callback was invoked immediately. */
+	bool async;
 	barrier_cb cb;
 };
 
@@ -63,8 +66,12 @@ struct exec {
 	uint64_t id;
 	int status;
 	queue queue;
-	exec_cb cb;
 	pool_work_t work;
+	/* When the callback is invoked, this field is `true` if raft_barrier
+	 * or raft_apply was called and `false` if the callback was invoked
+	 * immediately. */
+	bool async;
+	exec_cb cb;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/test/integration/test_client.c b/test/integration/test_client.c
index 98fccd428..c2a1cfec2 100644
--- a/test/integration/test_client.c
+++ b/test/integration/test_client.c
@@ -145,3 +145,29 @@ TEST(client, querySql, setUp, tearDown, 0, client_params)
 
 	return MUNIT_OK;
 }
+
+/* Stress test of an EXEC_SQL with many ';'-separated statements. */
+TEST(client, semicolons, setUp, tearDown, 0, NULL)
+{
+	struct fixture *f = data;
+	(void)params;
+
+	static const char trivial_stmt[] = "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS foo (n INT);";
+
+	size_t n = 1000;
+	size_t unit = sizeof(trivial_stmt) - 1;
+	char *sql = munit_malloc(n * unit);
+	char *p = sql;
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < n; i++) {
+		memcpy(p, trivial_stmt, unit);
+		p += unit;
+	}
+	sql[n * unit - 1] = '\0';
+
+	uint64_t last_insert_id;
+	uint64_t rows_affected;
+	EXEC_SQL(sql, &last_insert_id, &rows_affected);
+
+	free(sql);
+	return MUNIT_OK;
+}
diff --git a/test/unit/test_concurrency.c b/test/unit/test_concurrency.c
index 6008efacc..c3a1afee3 100644
--- a/test/unit/test_concurrency.c
+++ b/test/unit/test_concurrency.c
@@ -49,8 +49,12 @@ struct connection {
 		struct request_open open;                                  \
 		struct response_db db;                                     \
 		struct id_state seed = { { 1 } };                          \
-		gateway__init(&c->gateway, CLUSTER_CONFIG(0),              \
-			      CLUSTER_REGISTRY(0), CLUSTER_RAFT(0), seed); \
+		gateway__init(&c->gateway, \
+			      CLUSTER_CONFIG(0), \
+			      NULL, \
+			      CLUSTER_REGISTRY(0), \
+			      CLUSTER_RAFT(0), \
+			      seed); \
 		c->handle.data = &c->context;                              \
 		rc = buffer__init(&c->request);                            \
 		munit_assert_int(rc, ==, 0);                               \
diff --git a/test/unit/test_gateway.c b/test/unit/test_gateway.c
index d0e1fb7c6..467cdb1ae 100644
--- a/test/unit/test_gateway.c
+++ b/test/unit/test_gateway.c
@@ -55,8 +55,12 @@ struct connection {
 		struct id_state seed = { { 1 } };                       \
 		config = CLUSTER_CONFIG(i);                             \
 		config->page_size = 512;                                \
-		gateway__init(&c->gateway, config, CLUSTER_REGISTRY(i), \
-			      CLUSTER_RAFT(i), seed);                   \
+		gateway__init(&c->gateway, \
+			      config, \
+			      NULL, \
+			      CLUSTER_REGISTRY(i), \
+			      CLUSTER_RAFT(i), \
+			      seed); \
 		c->handle.data = &c->context;                           \
 		rc = buffer__init(&c->buf1);                            \
 		munit_assert_int(rc, ==, 0);                            \