Syria will join the international coalition to fight the Islamic State (IS), a move that would mark a shift in US foreign policy in the Middle East, a senior Trump administration official has confirmed.
The announcement came as U.S. President Donald Trump met Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara at the White House. This is the first visit by a Syrian leader in Syrian history.
In an interview with Fox News Special Report, Alshara said the visit was part of a “new era” in the country’s cooperation with the United States.
Until recently, Trump had expressed support for al-Shara, which the U.S. government designated as a terrorist group.
Syria now becomes the 90th country to join a global coalition aimed at eliminating remnants of the so-called Islamic State (IS) and stemming the flow of foreign militants to the Middle East.
After the meeting, a senior administration official confirmed that the U.S. Treasury, along with the State and Commerce departments, would announce new measures to lift economic restrictions on Syria and provide “compliance clarity for investors.”
As part of this action, the administration ordered a 180-day suspension of the Caesar Act, which had imposed sanctions on the former Syrian government since 2019.
“We want to see Syria become a very successful country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office hours after the meeting.
“And I think this leader can do it,” he added. “Really.”
Diplomatic relations between Syria and the United States have been suspended since 2012, but the United States will now allow Syria to reopen its embassy in Washington.
This is the third meeting between the two leaders, following the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in May and the UN General Assembly dinner in September.
Al-Shara’s visit to the White House marked a remarkable shift in the former jihadist’s brand image.
Not long ago, he led a branch of al-Qaeda, the group behind the 9/11 and other terrorist attacks, before cutting ties with it.
Until this year, he was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a militant Islamist group that the United States officially considered a terrorist organization until four months ago and carried a $10 million bounty.
The Treasury Department last week removed al-Shara from its “specially designated global terrorist list.”
But since becoming Syria’s interim president, al-Shara has sought to undermine his public image as he seeks to rebuild the country with foreign support after 13 years of war.
“He’s had a difficult past,” Trump said Monday. “And honestly, I don’t think I would have had a chance if I didn’t have a difficult past.”
In the interview, Al-Shara said he and Trump did not discuss his past, but instead focused on the “present and future” of Syria, a “geopolitical” and economic partner for the United States.
But al-Shara’s rule has been undermined by killings of Syria’s Alawite minority and deadly violence between Sunni Bedouin fighters and Druze militias.
He pledged to root out security forces responsible for human rights abuses.
President Trump repeatedly expressed support for Alshara, calling him a “young, attractive man” and a “warrior.”
In June, President Trump signed an executive order lifting sanctions on Syria, which the White House said would help support the country’s “path to stability and peace.”
At the time, the administration said it would “take steps to normalize relations with Israel” and monitor the actions of the new Syrian government, including in dealing with “foreign terrorists” and armed groups operating in Syria.
