Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visits the White House Monday in a historic diplomatic step to test whether Damascus can rejoin international diplomacy.
President Donald Trump is preparing to welcome Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday in what officials describe as a historic step toward testing whether Damascus can be drawn back into diplomacy after years of war and isolation.
The high-profile meeting underscores a new chapter in U.S.–Syria relations after more than a decade of hostility. A senior administration official told Fox News Digital the visit will focus on counterterrorism cooperation, economic development, and advancing regional peace and security.
During the visit, the official said, „Syria will announce that it is joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Syria will thus become the 90th member of the D-ISIS Coalition, partnering with the United States to eliminate ISIS remnants and halt foreign fighter flows.“
The visit follows a week of major policy shifts. On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council voted 14-0, with China abstaining, to remove sanctions on al-Sharaa and Syria’s interior minister. Additionally, Reuters reported that al-Sharaa and his interior minister, Anas Khattab, had formerly been subject to financial sanctions targeted at al Qaeda and ISIS, with the United States designating them Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
The meeting comes about six weeks after al-Sharaa — the former commander of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, once affiliated with al Qaeda — addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 24, the first by a Syrian head of state in six decades. There, he urged the West to lift sanctions and called for international support to rebuild the country.
According to the administration official, that is about to happen: „Treasury, State, and Commerce will jointly announce measures taken to lift economic restrictions and provide compliance clarity for investors. The United States will allow Syria to resume operations at its Embassy in Washington to further counterterrorism, security, and economic coordination.“
Syrian officials are seeking a reassessment of the Caesar Act sanctions, the main U.S. law still restricting commercial ties with Damascus.
The senior administration official told Fox News Digital, „The Administration is issuing a 180-day suspension of the Caesar Act and is urging Congress to permanently repeal the Act to unlock economic growth.
