Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has visited the White House, where he met with US President Donald Trump, and the two leaders have agreed to Syria’s joining the coalition against the terrorist organization Islamic State, writes the BBC.
Al-Sharaa is the first Syrian leader to visit the White House. In an interview with Fox News, he indicated that the visit is part of a new era in relations between the two countries. Trump has shown support for al-Sharaa, who until recently was on the US government’s list of terrorists. Syria will become the 90th country to join the international coalition aimed at destroying the remaining elements of the Islamic State and stopping the flow of foreign fighters into the Middle East.
After the meeting, a senior Trump administration official confirmed that the US Treasury, along with the State Department and the Commerce Department, will announce new measures to lift economic sanctions on Syria. This includes a 180-day suspension of the so-called Caesar Act, which has been in place since 2019 against the former Syrian government. Trump told reporters after the meeting that he wanted to see Syria become a very successful country, adding that he believed the new leader could achieve that.
This is the third meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries ended in 2012, but the US will now allow Syria to reopen its embassy in Washington. Al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House marks a significant shift in attitude towards the former jihadist. He once led an offshoot of al-Qaeda, the terrorist group responsible for the attacks on the 11th of September, 2001.
The U.S. Treasury Department removed al-Sharaa from its list of global terrorists in early November. Since taking office, al-Sharaa has sought to soften his public image as he seeks to rebuild Syria after 13 years of war. Trump said on the 10th of November that the new president has a rough past and that he believes al-Sharaa would have no chance without it.
Al-Sharaa said in an interview that he did not discuss his past with Trump, and instead focused on Syria’s present and future. However, the new president’s rise to power has not brought complete peace to Syria, with reports of killings of members of the country’s Christian minority and deadly clashes between rival guerrilla groups. Meanwhile, al-Sharaa has promised to uproot individuals who have committed human rights violations from the country’s security forces.
The US government, when lifting sanctions on Syria in June, announced that it would closely monitor the work of the new government, including the normalization of relations with Israel.
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