Syrian President al-Sharaa to visit Washington, join anti-Daesh coalition

Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani said Sunday that President Ahmed al-Sharaa will travel to Washington this November to discuss the lifting of remaining sanctions on Syria, reconstruction efforts, and counterterrorism.

Al-Sharaa will be the first Syrian head of state to make an official visit to the United States.

Speaking at the "Manama Dialogue" forum in Bahrain, Al-Shaibani clarified that Al-Sharaa "will be at the White House at the beginning of November," calling the visit "certainly historic."

Key Agenda Items:

• Sanctions Relief: The primary focus will be the lifting of remaining US sanctions imposed on the country.
• Counterterrorism: Discussions will include the fight against Daesh and the need for international support for Syria in this area, as the country "suffers from this issue."

Al-Shaibani noted that talks will also address the stabilization process and reconstruction in the country. The Syrian Foreign Ministry affirmed the visit will be the first-ever by a Syrian president to the White House.

Diplomacy Follows Regime Change

The announcement follows a pledge made by US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack on Saturday that Al-Sharaa would travel to Washington to "likely" sign an agreement to join the US-led international coalition against Daesh.

The visit to Washington will be Al-Sharaa's first to the capital and his second to the US, following his participation in the UN General Assembly last September.

In May, Al-Sharaa met US President Donald Trump for the first time in Riyadh during a historic visit where Trump pledged to lift sanctions on Syria.

The diplomatic overtures come after the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime on Dec. 8, following a surprise offensive by opposition factions led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Al-Sharaa formerly led.

Security Discussions with ‘Israel’

Despite Syria and ‘Israel’ officially remaining in a state of war, the two countries have begun direct negotiations.

Trump has expressed hope that Syria would join the Arab nations that normalized relations with ‘Israel’ under the "Abraham Accords," but Al-Shaibani stated that "this discussion is not on the table and has not been raised."

However, a Syrian official told AFP earlier this year that Damascus expects to finalize security and military agreements with ‘Israel’ in 2025.

Following the ousting of Al-Assad, ‘Israeli’ forces advanced to positions in the Golan buffer zone established by the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

‘Israel’ has since launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military sites and repeatedly announced ground operations to detain individuals suspected of alleged "terrorist" activities in southern Syria.

‘Israel’ occupied the Syrian Golan Heights in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981, a move unrecognized by the international community. ‘Israel’ demands that southern Syria be a demilitarized zone.

Al-Shaibani said, "We have said that we are committed to the 1974 agreement and that we are also committed to building an agreement that guarantees peace and calm between us and Israel. We do not want Syria to enter a new war, nor is Syria in a position today to threaten any party, including Israel."

He added, "I believe that today there are negotiations or pathways moving toward reaching a security agreement that neither shakes the 1974 agreement nor dictates a new reality that Israel might impose in the south."