Ahmed al-Sharaa is expected to push for full lifting of remaining sanctions imposed during 13-year civil war
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”.
