Syrian president to hold talks with Trump at White House

"Syria's president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, will on Monday hold talks with Donald Trump at the White House, the first such official visit by a Syrian leader since national independence in 1946. He is expected to push for a full lifting of the remaining sanctions on his war-ravaged country. Sharaa, whose Islamist rebel forces toppled the longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, has courted the US president to try to reverse the economic restrictions imposed during the 13-year civil war, arguing they are no longer justified."

"His media adviser, Ahmad Zeidan, told Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya the foremost issue on Sharaa's agenda is a repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 which imposed sweeping sanctions over human rights abuses by Assad's regime during the conflict. Trump met the Syrian leader for the first time last May in Riyadh on the sidelines of a Gulf Cooperation Council summit. Before the talks, he praised Sharaa to reporters as a young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter. Trump then ordered most sanctions lifted in a big US policy shift. But the Caesar Act remains in place and will require a congressional vote to remove its particularly stringent sanctions permanently."

"Sharaa, who as a militant leader had a $10m (7.6m) US government bounty on his head, is the former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that led the military operation to topple Assad. On Thursday, Washington led a vote by the UN security council to quash UN sanctions against him. In September the ex-jihadist, who had been previously affiliated with al-Qaida, became the first Syrian president in decades to address the UN general assembly in New York."

Ahmed al-Sharaa will meet US president Donald Trump at the White House to seek removal of remaining sanctions on Syria. He plans to push specifically for repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019. Sharaa led Islamist rebel forces that toppled Bashar al-Assad and previously led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The US previously lifted most sanctions after an earlier meeting but the Caesar Act remains and requires congressional action to remove. Washington led a UN Security Council vote to quash UN sanctions against Sharaa. Sharaa emphasizes rebuilding Syria's economy and urged lifting sanctions to enable recovery.

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