Trump to host Syria’s al-Sharaa for talks at White House, envoy says

Al-Sharaa’s trip, planned for November 10, volition beryllium first-ever sojourn by a Syrian president to the White House.

United States President Donald Trump volition big Syria’s interim leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, for talks connected November 10, according to Washington’s envoy to Damascus, successful what would people the first-ever sojourn by a Syrian president to the US capital.

Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria, told the Axios paper connected Saturday that al-Sharaa is expected to motion an statement to articulation an planetary US-led confederation against the ISIL (ISIS) radical during his visit.

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The Reuters quality bureau besides cited a Syrian root acquainted with the substance arsenic saying that the travel was expected to instrumentality spot wrong the adjacent 2 weeks.

According to the US State Department’s humanities database of overseas person visits, nary erstwhile Syrian president has paid an authoritative sojourn to Washington.

Al-Sharaa, who seized powerfulness from Bashar al-Assad past December, has been seeking to re-establish Syria’s ties with satellite powers that had shunned Damascus during al-Assad’s rule.

He met with Trump successful Saudi Arabia successful May, successful what was the archetypal brushwood betwixt the 2 nations’ leaders successful 25 years.

The meeting, connected the sidelines of Trump’s get-together with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, was seen arsenic a large crook of events for a Syria that is inactive adjusting to beingness aft the much than 50-year regularisation of the Assad family.

Al-Sharaa besides addressed the United Nations General Assembly successful New York successful September.

Barrack, the US envoy to Syria, told reporters connected the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue successful Bahrain that Washington was aiming to enlistee Damascus to articulation the conjugation the US has led since 2014 to combat against ISIL, the equipped radical that controlled astir a 3rd of Syria and Iraq astatine its peak, betwixt 2014 and 2017.

“We are trying to get everybody to beryllium a spouse successful this alliance, which is immense for them,” Barrack said.

Al-Sharaa erstwhile led Syria’s offshoot of al-Qaeda, but a decennary ago, his anti-Assad rebel radical broke distant from the web founded by Osama bin Laden, and aboriginal clashed with ISIL.

Al-Sharaa erstwhile had a $10m US reward connected his head.

Al-Sharaa, besides referred to arsenic Abu Mohammed al-Julani, had joined fighters battling US forces successful Iraq earlier entering the Syrian war. He was adjacent imprisoned by US troops determination for respective years.

The US-led conjugation and its section partners drove ISIL from its past stronghold successful Syria successful 2019.

Al-Sharaa’s planned sojourn to Washington comes arsenic Trump is urging Middle East allies to prehend the infinitesimal to physique a durable bid successful the volatile portion aft Israel and Hamas earlier this period began implementing a ceasefire and captives’ deal. That statement aims to bring astir a imperishable extremity to Israel’s brutal two-year warfare successful Gaza.

The fragile ceasefire and captive merchandise woody continues to hold, but the concern remains precarious.

Israeli strikes successful Gaza earlier this week killed 104 people, including dozens of women and children, the enclave’s wellness authorities said. The strikes, the deadliest since the ceasefire began connected October 10, marked the astir superior situation to the tenuous truce to date.

Meanwhile, Syria and Israel are successful talks to scope an statement that Damascus hopes volition unafraid a halt to Israeli aerial strikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who person pushed into confederate Syria.

Barrack told the Manama Dialogue earlier that Syria and Israel continued to clasp de-escalation talks, which the US has been mediating.

He told reporters that Syria and Israel were adjacent to reaching an agreement, but declined to accidental erstwhile precisely a woody could beryllium reached.

Israel and Syria person been Middle East adversaries for decades.

Despite the overthrow of al-Assad past December, territorial disputes and deep-seated governmental mistrust betwixt the 2 countries remain.