"In an hour-long conversation, the onetime militant, who spoke through an interpreter, discussed the importance of rebuilding Syria's relationship with the United States. He also offered frank assessments of ongoing talks with Israel, postwar sectarian violence and his own improbable journey from Iraq-based insurgent and rebel leader in Syria to the first Syrian head of state to meet a U.S. president in Washington."
"The most important objective is starting on - building the relationship between Syria [and the] United States, because in the past 100 years, it wasn't a very good relationship. We were looking for common interest between the United States and Syria and we found that we have a lot of common interests that we can build on, [such as] security interests and economic interests. The stability of Syria will impact the entire region and the instability of Syria, as well, will impact the region."
The Syrian president made a historic first trip to the White House as the first Syrian head of state to meet a U.S. president in Washington. The visit aimed to rebuild bilateral relations by identifying common security and economic interests. Reestablishing stability in Syria was linked to economic development and the lifting of sanctions, with progress reported but awaiting a final decision. Talks with Israel, postwar sectarian violence, and a transformation from an Iraq-based insurgent and rebel leader to head of state featured as central issues. The disappearance of journalist Austin Tice was noted amid a broader context of roughly 250,000 missing Syrians.
Read at The Washington Post
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