Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives in the US for White House meeting after being removed from terrorism blacklist, with military base planned
DAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, according to his country’s state news agency.
The visit comes one day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist.
Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.
The interim leader previously met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president’s regional tour in May.
US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said earlier this month that Sharaa would “hopefully” sign an agreement to join the international US-led alliance against the Islamic State.
The United States plans to establish a military base near Damascus to coordinate humanitarian aid and observe developments between Syria and Israel, according to a diplomatic source.
The State Department’s decision to remove Sharaa from the blacklist was widely expected.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Sharaa’s government had been meeting US demands including working to find missing Americans and eliminating any remaining chemical weapons.
On Thursday, Washington led a vote by the Security Council to remove UN sanctions against him.
Formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda, Sharaa’s group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was delisted as a terrorist group by Washington as recently as July.
Since taking power, Syria’s new leaders have sought to break from their violent past and present a moderate image more tolerable to ordinary Syrians and foreign powers. – AFP
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