US President Donald Trump hosted Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, welcoming Syria into a US-led global coalition to fight the Islamic State group. The meeting marked the first visit to the White House by a Syrian head of state since Syria gained independence from France in 1946.Al-Sharaa arrived at the White House around 11.30 am and shortly after began a closed meeting in the Oval Office. He entered via West Executive Avenue rather than the West Wing driveway normally used for foreign leaders’ arrivals. He left about two hours later, greeting a throng of supporters outside before getting into his motorcade, AP reported.
Syria to join US-led coalition to defeat IS group: Report
Syria will join the international coalition to combat the Islamic State group, marking a shift in US foreign policy in the Middle East, according to BBC report.Diplomatic relations between Syria and the US have been suspended since 2012, although Trump has moved to restore them after the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.The talks between the two countries focused on Syria’s role in defeating Islamic State, the reconstruction effort and the lifting of sanctions.
Trump praises Al-Sharaa
“We’ll do everything we can to make Syria successful because that’s part of the Middle East,” Trump told reporters. The US president said of al-Sharaa that “I have confidence that he’ll be able to do the job.”“He’s a very strong leader. He comes from a very tough place, and he’s a tough guy,” Trump told reporters. “People said he’s had a rough past, we’ve all had rough pasts…And I think, frankly, if you didn’t have a rough past, you wouldn’t have a chance.” Trump said Syria was a “big part” of his plan for a wider Middle East peace plan, which the US president is hoping will prop up the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
What Syria said about meeting?
Syria’s foreign ministry, in a statement, described the meeting as “friendly and constructive.” It said Trump “affirmed the readiness of the United States to provide the support that the Syrian leadership needs to ensure the success of the reconstruction and development process.”The statement added that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio then met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who arrived in Washington on Monday, and that they agreed to proceed with implementing an agreement reached in March between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to integrate the SDF into the new Syrian army. It was unclear what concrete steps were agreed.The statement said the American side also affirmed its support for reaching a security agreement with Israel, but did not say how Syria had responded.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 then-President Bill Clinton met with Hafez Assad.
US partially waives Caesar Act sanctions on Syria after meeting
The US partially suspended the imposition of Caesar Act sanctions on Syria for 180 days, the Treasury Department announced on Monday. The suspension replaces a May 23 waiver that also granted a 180-day exemption from mandatory Caesar Act sanctions and represents “our commitment to continued sanctions relief for Syria,” according to an advisory from the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). It halted the imposition of Caesar Act sanctions except for certain transactions involving the governments of Russia and Iran, or transfers of Russian-origin or Iranian-origin goods, technology, software, funds, financing, or services, the advisory said.Rubio, in a statement, said, “Today, I issued a suspension of mandatory Caesar Act sanctions based on the actions taken by the Syrian government following the fall of the al-Assad regime.”“The suspension of Caesar Act sanctions supports Syria’s efforts to rebuild its economy, restore ties with foreign partners, and foster prosperity and peace for all its citizens,” he added. While the Caesar Act sanctions are currently waived by Trump, a permanent repeal would require Congress to act.
