Trump praised al-Sharaa for its strength. “He comes from a very tough place and he’s a tough guy,” said the US president. He wants Syria to be “very successful.” Al-Sharaa “can do it, I really believe it,” Trump added.
As part of Washington’s rapprochement with Damascus after the fall of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad, Trump had already paused US sanctions against Syria in May. This suspension has now been extended for a further 180 days. The US State Department supports a full lifting of sanctions imposed in 2019. However, the US Congress must vote on this.
In advance, the US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, had stated that, among other things, an agreement should be signed for Syria to join the US-led international coalition to fight the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS). Trump would not confirm that or whether al-Sharaa would sign a non-aggression pact with Syria’s long-time enemy Israel.
The Syrian presidency said on the online service The Syrian presidency also published images of Trump in the Oval Office shaking hands with a smiling al-Sharaa.
Contrary to usual practice, the meeting between the two heads of state took place away from cameras. “The Syrian President has arrived at the White House,” was only officially announced by the US. “The meeting between President Trump and President al-Sharaa has begun.” After the meeting, al-Sharaa got out of his motorcade in front of the White House to greet supporters.
Al-Sharaa was only removed from its terror list by the USA on Friday, which made the visit to Trump possible. A day earlier, at Washington’s initiative, the UN Security Council voted to lift sanctions against the former jihadist.
Al-Sharaa’s Islamist HTS militia is a former branch of al-Qaeda, but broke away from the extremist network years ago. Since taking office, the interim president has tried to achieve a more moderate image and international recognition.
