Syrian President Al-Sharaa Arrives in the United States to Meet Trump

SadaNews - Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa has arrived in the United States on a historic visit, which marks the first time a Syrian president visits the White House, during which he is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Syrian news agency "SANA" reported about "the arrival of the President of the Syrian Arab Republic Ahmad Al-Sharaa to the United States on an official visit".

It is expected that Damascus will sign an agreement during this visit to join the international coalition against ISIS led by Washington, as announced by U.S. special envoy to Syria Thomas Barak.

At the same time, the United States intends to establish a military base near Damascus, according to a diplomatic source in Syria.

Syria, which has emerged from a devastating 14-year conflict, is seeking funding for reconstruction, which the World Bank has estimated to cost over $216 billion.

Prior to this visit, the United States officially removed Al-Sharaa from the terrorism list on Friday, just days before his visit to Washington and following the lifting of sanctions against him by the United Nations Security Council as well.

Just a year ago, Al-Sharaa was leading "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham", which emerged from the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. The United Nations imposed sanctions on him in 2013 as he was the leader of this organization.

He led the organization along with other factions in the military operation that overthrew regime leader Bashar al-Assad on December 8.

Al-Sharaa made his first visit to the United States to participate in the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he delivered a speech, but his visit to Washington is the first for a Syrian president.

Trump and Al-Sharaa are also expected to discuss direct negotiations between the Syrian authorities and Israel.

In May, Trump urged the Syrian president to join the "Abraham Accords", a process that saw several Arab countries normalize their relations with Israel in 2020.

Al-Sharaa announced in September that negotiations with Israel aim to reach a security agreement under which Israel would withdraw from areas in southern Syria that it entered after Assad's fall and cease its airstrikes.

Since December 2024, Syria has been subjected to numerous Israeli airstrikes and incursions in the south of the country.