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Rabat — Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa arrived in the US late Saturday night, marking the beginning of an unprecedented official visit that will see him meet President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.
The trip represents the first time a Syrian president has visited Washington since his country gained independence in 1946. Al Sharaa, who led the military operation that toppled Bashar al-Assad on December 8, previously traveled to New York in September to address the United Nations General Assembly, but this marks his first journey to the nation’s capital.
The visit comes after the US formally removed Al Sharaa’s name from its global sanctions “terrorist” list on Friday, following the UN Security Council’s decision to lift sanctions against him.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the measures recognize “the progress shown by Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashar Al Assad and more than fifty years of repression under the Assad family regime.”
During the visit, Damascus expects to sign an agreement joining the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State, according to Tom Barrack, the US special envoy to Syria.
The transformation of Al Sharaa — formerly known by his alias Abu Mohammed Al Golani — has been dramatic. Just a year ago, he led Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a group that emerged from Jabhat Al Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda. The UN imposed sanctions on him in 2013 as the leader of that organization.
Since taking power, Al Sharaa has publicly severed ties with jihadist groups and intensified outreach to Western nations and regional powers. He has even conducted negotiations with Israel, which technically remains in a state of war with Syria.
A video circulating on social media after his arrival shows Al Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shaibani playing basketball with US Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper and Coalition Forces Commander Kevin Lambert during their earlier visit to Damascus.
Trump previously met Al Sharaa in Saudi Arabia during the American president’s regional tour in May, when he announced the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. The two leaders are expected to discuss direct negotiations between Syrian authorities and Israel during Monday’s meeting.
Syria, which emerged from a devastating 14-year conflict, desperately needs funding for reconstruction. The World Bank has estimated the cost at more than $216 billion.
Michael Hanna, director of the US program at the International Crisis Group, noted that “President Trump unexpectedly changed established US policy toward Syria in May and continued to support the new government in Damascus, despite instability and sectarian violence that undermined confidence in the country’s new leadership.”
The visit to the White House, Hanna added, serves as “further testimony to US commitment to the new Syria and carries great symbolism for the country’s new leader, who takes another step in his remarkable transformation from hardline militant to global statesman.”
On Thursday, Al Sharaa met with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the climate summit COP30 in Brazil. Macron said he expects “Syria to be a full and effective partner in our war against terrorist groups in the region.”
