Pardoned Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa Arrives in the United States

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on an official visit, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported, quoted by BTA.

This came a day after Sharaa was removed from Washington's blacklist of individuals and organizations sanctioned for terrorism. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted Bashar al-Assad late last year, will meet with US President Donald Trump.

The Syrian leader is expected to sign an agreement to join the US-led anti-jihadist coalition, said US envoy for Syria Tom Barrack. The "Islamic State" was defeated in 2019 by the coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mostly Kurdish militia, who are now negotiating their integration into the Syrian army. The United States, for its part, is planning to establish a military base near Damascus, a diplomatic source in Syria told AFP.

This will be the Syrian leader's first visit to the White House and a recognition of the former jihadist who, in less than a year in power, brought his country out of isolation, according to Agence France-Presse.

The United States plans to build a military base near Damascus, a diplomatic source in Syria told AFP.

The country, devastated by more than 13 years of civil war, is also seeking to secure funds for its reconstruction, which the World Bank estimates could cost more than $216 billion.

On Thursday, the UN Security Council lifted sanctions against al-Sharaa, who until now needed permission from the world organization for any travel abroad.

The resolution, drafted by the United States, welcomes the commitment of the new Syrian authorities led by Ash Sharaa, who until a year ago led the group “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham“ (HTS), the former Syrian branch of “Al Qaeda“, to “fight terrorism“.

The United States also lifted sanctions on al-Sharaa on Friday, a day after the UN Security Council did so before his meeting with the US president on Monday, Reuters notes.

A statement published on the website of the US Treasury Department said that the United States had removed the status of a specially designated global terrorist from al-Sharaa and Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab.

As the leader of HTS, which led the Islamist coalition that ousted Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024, al-Sharaa had been on the UN sanctions list since 2013.

As soon as he came to power, however, he categorically broke with his jihadist past, has strengthened his ties with the West and countries in the region, including wealthy Arab monarchies, and has begun negotiations with Israel, with which his country is theoretically at war.

Ash-Sharaa has already visited New York once before, in September, to address the UN General Assembly.

The “Historic“ visit to Washington, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al-Shibani announced, quoted by the state television “Al Ekhbariya“.

This will be the first visit by a Syrian president to Washington since 1946, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported.

Ash-Sharaa's talks in Washington will touch on the reconstruction of war-torn Syria, SANA quoted Ash-Shibani as saying.

“We want a very strong partnership between the United States and Syria“, the minister added at a security forum in Bahrain, Reuters reported.

This visit “opens a new chapter in American policy in the Middle East“, said analyst Nick Heras of the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy.

“Trump invites Ash Sharaa in the White House to show that he is no longer a terrorist [...], but a pragmatic and above all flexible leader who, under American and Saudi leadership, will turn Syria into a strategic regional pillar“, the expert points out.

For his part, “Ash Sharaa wants to receive Trump's blessing to unblock billions of dollars [...] for the reconstruction of Syria and to strengthen his control over the country“.

Donald Trump has already met with the Syrian leader during his trip to the Persian Gulf in May and announced the lifting of US sanctions against Syria.

A diplomatic source in Syria told AFP that the US “intends to establish a military base at Mazaa military airport, near Damascus, to coordinate humanitarian aid and monitor developments between Syria and Israel“.

According to another Syrian diplomatic source “the issue of Syria joining the anti-jihadist coalition will be at the top of the agenda“ at the White House meeting.

Until now, the majority of US troops deployed in Syria have been based in areas controlled by Kurdish forces in the northeast of the country.

The jihadist group “Islamic State“ (IS) was defeated in Syria in 2019 by the coalition and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are currently negotiating their integration into the Syrian army, AFP recalls.

The two leaders will also discuss direct talks initiated by the Syrian authorities with Israel.

In May, Trump called on the Syrian leader to join the Abraham Accords, with which several Arab countries normalized their relations with Israel in 2020.

However, in September, Ash Sharaa said that the negotiations with the Jewish state were focused on concluding a security agreement under which Israel would withdraw from the areas in southern Syria that it occupied after the fall of Assad and would cease its attacks.

Since December, Syria has been the target of repeated Israeli attacks and incursions, to which it has not responded. This creates tension in the region and distances the establishment of lasting peace.