The US announced on Monday it suspending the majority of the sanctions on Syria for 180 days. The develpment comes after what has been described as a historic meeting between presidents Ahmed al-Sharaa and Donald Trump at the White House.
“We want to see Syria become a country that’s very successful, and we think this leader can do it”, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office.
"He gets along very well with Turkey, with President Erdoğan. … We’re working also with Israel on getting along with Syria”.
From al-Qaeda to president
This is the first visit by a Syrian President to the White House, six months after the two presidents had their first meeting in Saudi Arabia and only days after Washington announced that the former al-Qaeda member is no longer considered a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.”
The 42-year-old al-Sarra took power last year after his Islamist fighters launched an attack from their enclave in north-western Syria, overthrew long-time President Bashar al-Assad in December. Since then, Syria has undergone rapid transformation, moving away from Assad-era allies - Iran and Russia - and shifting towards Turkey, the Gulf states, and Washington.
The United States is mediating talks between Syria and Israel on a possible security agreement and, according to Reuters, plans to deploy troops at Damascus Air Base. Syria is also expected to join a US-led coalition against the Islamic State, which was expected announced during today’s meeting at the White House.
Shortly after al-Sharaa departed from the White House, the Syrian information minister said in a post on X that the country recently signed a political cooperation declaration with the global coalition to defeat ISIL (ISIS),
“The agreement is political and until now contains no military components,” he said.
Sanctions
A few days before the meeting, Trump told reporters at the White House that “great progress” had been made regarding Syria. “I think (al-Sarra) is doing a very good job. It’s a tough neighbourhood, and he’s a tough guy, but I got along very well with him,” Trump said.
After their meeting in Riyadh in May, Trump announced that he would lift all sanctions against Syria. However, the most severe sanctions, known as the Caesar Sanctions, require a Congressional decision for their removal. The White House and the State Department have publicly supported lifting them before the end of 2025, but experts say that the ongoing government shutdown may affect this timetable
Talks with Turkey
Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the meeting between al-Sharaa and Trump.
A statement released by Syria’s Foreign Ministry revealed that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan joined a working meeting between the four.
Ahead of the meeting, Turkish media said Fidan’s visit to the US carries heightened significance for the Eastern Mediterranean and Greek-Turkish relations, with energy, defence, and regional issues on the agenda.
Reports said that discussions coincide with the meeting between Trump and al-Sarra, and were expected to include the US proposal for Gaza (establishment of an International Stabilisation Force and Peace Council), security arrangements in Syria, including the status of the SDF, as well as issues relating to the F-35/F-16 programmes and the possible lifting of CAATSA sanctions on Turkey. According to Turkish press reports, Fidan is expected to discuss the Gaza ceasefire, Syria, and bilateral and regional relations with Rubio.
Foiled assasination attempt
Meanwhile, two senior officials said Syria has thwarted two separate Islamic State plots to assassinate al-Sarra, according to Reuters. The sources - a senior official in Syria’s security forces and a senior Middle Eastern official - said that the plots were foiled in recent months, underscoring the immediate threat the president faces as he seeks to consolidate power in a country ravaged by 14 years of civil war.
According to the sources, in one case the Islamic State plot focused on an official event involving al-Sarra that had been announced in advance. They declined to give further details due to the sensitivity of the matter. The Syrian Ministry of Information declined to comment.
Over the weekend, the Syrian Interior Ministry launched a nationwide campaign targeting Islamic State cells, arresting more than 70 suspects, according to state media. The senior Syrian security source told Reuters that authorities acted on intelligence that the organisation was planning operations against the government and minority groups.
The campaign also served as a message that Syrian intelligence services have deeply penetrated the organisation and that Syria’s participation in the coalition will provide a major advantage in global operations against Islamist militants. Before taking power, al-Sarra led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist rebel group formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda in Syria. He broke those ties in 2016 and fought against Islamic State for more than a decade through arrests and military operations against its cells in Idlib, HTS’s stronghold.