Syria’s Sharaa arrives in US for Trump talks after sanctions lifted

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Washington for an official visit, just two days after the United States officially revoked his designation as a designated global terrorist.

The former Islamist militant will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, eleven months after his opposition coalition ousted Bashar al-Assad.

Hours before his arrival in the American capital, it was announced that the Syrian security services had arrested dozens of suspected members of the so-called Islamic State.

It is expected that joint efforts to address what remains of the organization in Syria will be at the top of the agenda of Al-Shara’s talks with Trump.

Syrian authorities said that 71 suspected members of the group were arrested, and weapons and explosives were seized.

Since taking power, Sharaa has sought to re-establish Syria’s presence on the global stage after decades of isolation under the Assad regime and 13 years of civil war.

He traveled to the United States in September to address the United Nations General Assembly, where he said Syria was “reclaiming its rightful place among the world’s nations” and called on the international community to lift sanctions.

Earlier this week The United Nations Security Council supported a US decision to lift the measuresThis coincided with Washington continuing a months-long process to gradually ease sanctions on Syria and its new leaders.

Al-Sharaa and his Interior Minister Anas Hassan Khattab were removed on Friday from the US registry of individuals suspected of supporting or financing extremist groups, a decision the Treasury Department said was “in recognition of the progress demonstrated by the Syrian leadership.”

Al-Sharaa was listed under the name Muhammad al-Julani, the alias he used as leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. The group was affiliated with Al-Qaeda until 2016, when Al-Sharaa cut ties with it.

Before leading Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Al-Sharaa fought in the ranks of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and was imprisoned for a period by US forces. He was also subject to a US bounty of $10 million.

The United States lifted its sanctions on Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham earlier this year.

Trump met Al-Sharaa last May during a visit to Riyadh, where he described him as “a strong man, with a very strong past.”

Despite his background, Al-Sharaa gained support from governments that opposed the Assad regime by pledging to lead a moderate government that could gain the support of Syria’s various ethnic groups and factions.

Earlier this year, he vowed to eliminate members of his security forces who were involved He is accused of executing members of the Alawite minority in Syria.

Deadly violence has also erupted in recent months between Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias, raising questions about whether the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham-led government can restore stability to a country marked by war for more than a decade.