US President Donald Trump is hosting Syrian counterpart Ahmed al Sharaa at the White House on Monday, welcoming the once-pariah state into a US-led global coalition to fight the terror group Daesh.
It's the first visit to the White House by a Syrian head of state since the Middle Eastern country gained independence from France in 1946, and comes after the US lifted sanctions imposed on Syria during the decades the country was ruled by the Assad family.
Al Sharaa led the forces that toppled former Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad last December and was named the country’s leader.
Trump and al Sharaa first met in May in Saudi Arabia. At the time, the US president described al Sharaa as a "young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. Fighter."
It was the first official encounter between the US and Syria since 2000, when former President Bill Clinton met with Hafez Assad, the father of Bashar.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday's visit is “part of the president’s efforts in diplomacy to meet with anyone around the world in the pursuit of peace.”
Trump has recently said al Sharaa is “doing a very good job so far” and that a “lot of progress has been made with Syria” since the US eased sanctions.
One official with knowledge of the administration's plans said Syria's entry into the global coalition fighting the Daesh will allow it to work more closely with US forces.
Conditions for sanctions repeal
Before al Sharaa's arrival in the US, the United Nations Security Council voted to lift sanctions on the Syrian president and other government officials in a move that Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, said was a strong sign that Syria is in a new era since the fall of Assad.
Al Sharaa comes into the meeting with his own priorities. He wants a permanent repeal of sanctions that punished Syria for widespread allegations of human rights abuses by Assad’s government and security forces. While the Caesar Act sanctions are currently waived by Trump, a permanent repeal would require Congress to act.
One option is a proposal from Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that would end the sanctions without any conditions. The other was drafted by Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Trump ally who wants to set conditions for a sanctions repeal that would be reviewed every six months.
