US President Donald Trump held discreet talks at the White House on Monday with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who until recently was on Washington’s terrorist blacklist and is now trying to end Syria’s decades of international isolation.
Sharaa’s visit capped an impressive year for the rebel who became ruler after ousting autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad and has since traveled the world trying to present himself as a moderate leader who wants to unify and rebuild his war-torn country.
One of Sharaa’s main goals in Washington was to push for the complete removal of the most severe US sanctions. As he met with Trump behind closed doors, the US Treasury Department announced a 180-day extension of its suspension of enforcement of the so-called Caesar sanctions, but only the US Congress can fully lift them.
Continues after advertising
Trump met with Sharaa in the first visit by a Syrian president to Washington, six months after their first meeting in Saudi Arabia, where the US leader announced plans to lift sanctions, and just days after the US said he was no longer a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’.
In an unusually low-key reception, Sharaa arrived without the fanfare normally given to visiting foreign dignitaries. He entered through a side door, where reporters only got a glimpse, rather than through the West Wing’s main door, where cameras usually capture Trump greeting VIPs. A group of reporters who usually come to the Oval Office for these talks were not allowed inside.
Shortly thereafter, the Treasury Department announced a new executive order to replace its May 23 resignation on enforcement of the 2019 Caesar Act, which imposed sweeping sanctions over human rights abuses under Assad. The move, essentially extending the exemption for another 180 days, indicated “our commitment to continued sanctions relief on Syria,” Treasury said in a statement.
Sharaa, 43, took power last year after his Islamist fighters launched a lightning offensive from their enclave in northwestern Syria and toppled Syrian President Assad just days later on December 8.
Since then, Syria’s regional realignment has moved at a breakneck pace, moving away from Assad’s main allies, Iran and Russia, and toward Turkey, the Gulf and Washington.
But although Trump has already removed many sanctions against Syria, the Caesar sanctions remain a major obstacle to the country’s reconstruction. A senior administration official said the administration would fully support Congress’s repeal of these sanctions.
Continues after advertising
The US is brokering talks on a possible security pact between Syria and Israel, which remains wary of Sharaa’s former militant ties. Reuters reported last week that the US is planning to establish a military presence at a Damascus air base.
Syria was also ready to formally join a U.S.-led coalition to fight Islamic State, the administration official said, and an announcement from the Syrian government was expected soon.
