Al-Sharaa meets Trump, becomes first Syrian president to ever visit White House

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, becoming the first Syrian leader to visit since the country’s independence in 1946.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later Monday, Trump said he wanted to see Syria become “a very successful country,” adding, “I think this leader can do it.”

“People say he’s had a rough past,” Trump continued. “We’ve all had rough pasts — and, frankly, if you didn’t have a rough past, you wouldn’t have a chance.”

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The Treasury Department said it was suspending the imposition of Caesar Act sanctions for 180 days, as Trump and al-Sharaa met.

The Syrian Presidency said the Oval Office talks addressed the bilateral ties between Washington and Damascus as well as ways to strengthen and develop them. “Several regional and international issues of common interest” were also discussed, according to the statement.

In a separate statement, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani held a meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

They agreed to proceed with the agreement to integrate the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian army, the ministry added.

Syria recently signed a political cooperation declaration with the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, the Syrian information minister then said. “The agreement is political and until now contains no military components,” he added.

The information minister added that Trump expressed support for a potential security arrangement with Israel, and that the US had announced the official reopening of the Syrian embassy in Washington, DC.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a vocal opponent of fully repealing the Caesar Act sanctions, met with al-Sharaa on Sunday. Mast’s signature is required for repeal, but he’s cited concerns that “should be obvious to everybody.”

On Monday morning, Mast said he “broke bread” with al-Sharaa and that the Syrian president will officially join the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS during his meeting with Trump.