Syrian president to hold talks with Trump at White House | Syria
Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara will meet with Donald Trump at the White House on Monday; This is the first such official visit by a Syrian leader since national independence in 1946. Al Shara is expected to push for the full lifting of remaining sanctions against his war-torn country.
Sharaa, whose Islamist rebel forces ousted long-ruling Bashar al-Assad late last year, appealed to the US president, arguing that economic restrictions imposed during the 13-year civil war were no longer justified.
Media consultant Ahmad Zeidan told Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya that the “important” issue on Sharaa’s agenda is the repeal of the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which imposes sweeping sanctions against human rights violations committed by the Assad regime during the conflict.
Trump met with the Syrian leader for the first time on the sidelines of the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh last May. Before the talks, he praised Sharaa to reporters as “a young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Warrior.”
Trump then ordered the lifting of most sanctions in a major US policy change. But the Caesar Act is still in effect, and a congressional vote would be required to permanently lift particularly stringent sanctions.
Sharaa, who has a US government bounty of $10 million (£7.6 million) on his head as a militant leader, is the former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that led the military operation to oust Assad.
On Thursday, Washington led the UN Security Council vote to cancel UN sanctions against it. In September, the former jihadist, who was previously linked to Al Qaeda, became the first Syrian president in decades to address the UN general assembly in New York.
“We have a great mission to build the economy,” Sharaa said at the summit held on the sidelines of the meeting. “Syria has a very diverse workforce. They love to work, it’s in their genes. So don’t worry, lift the sanctions and you’ll see the results.”
In October, the World Bank put the “best likely estimate” of the cost of rebuilding Syria at $216bn (£164bn).
The US state department removed Sharaa from its terrorism blacklist on Friday; It was a widely predicted move, and the president is expected to formally join the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group during his visit to Washington.
Syria this month carried out nationwide pre-emptive operations targeting ISIS cells. The interior ministry said that Syrian security forces carried out 61 raids, arrested 71 people, and seized explosives and weapons.
As relations warmed, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Sharaa’s government was meeting U.S. demands, including finding missing Americans and eliminating remaining chemical weapons.
“These actions are in recognition of the progress made by the Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashar Assad and more than 50 years of repression under the Assad regime,” Pigott said.
He added that rescinding the punitive measures would support “regional security and stability, as well as an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process.”
Sharaa and his team strive to present themselves as moderates ready to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity in the war-torn country after 13 years of civil war and to work constructively with regional powers.
However, the Israeli government is said to oppose the complete removal of US sanctions, arguing that it would have a significant impact on Washington’s relations with Damascus.
While Israel and Syria are officially at war and Israel still occupies Syria’s Golan Heights, Trump has expressed hope that the two countries can normalize relations.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report.
