Syria’s President: From Al-Qaeda to White House Guest

Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in Washington on Monday, November 10, to discuss various issues of mutual interest with US President Donald Trump.

The occurrence, which marks Al-Sharaa’s first visit to the United States has stirred controversy, and invited the mockery of critics, as it came a mere two days after Al-Sharaa was removed from the US Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) sanctions list.

This in turn has exposed the ambivalence of US counter-terrorism policy, which apparently designates or revokes persons and organizations from terrorism lists based on US interests at any given moment.

One day before being revoked from the SDGT sanctions list, the United Nations Security Council had also adopted a US resolution to remove Al-Sharaa and his Interior Minister, Anas Khattab, from sanctions targeting members and supporters of terrorist groups, including ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

Furthermore, Al-Sharaa’s visit followed the onset of a large-scale military campaign by Syria’s government forces on Saturday, November 8, against “terrorist cells” affiliated with ISIS in different governorates, according to the Syrian Ministry of Interior.

Trump hails Al-Sharaa, vows to support Syria

In what was interpreted as paving the way for Al-Sharaa to remain in office after Syria’s transitional period ends, Trump praised the former Al-Qaeda militant, saying:

“He’s a very strong leader, he comes from a very tough place. He’s a tough guy. I like him. I get along with the president, the new president of Syria, and we’ll do everything we can to make Syria successful because that’s part of the Middle East.”

Al-Sharaa says the visit marks new beginning for strategic relations with the US

For his part, Al-Sharaa considered his visit a new beginning for strategic relations between his country and the United States. During an interview with Fox News following his meeting with Trump on Monday, Syria’s new ruler said:

“For the past sixty years, Syria has been isolated from the rest of the world, and the relations were cut off between the United States and Syria. This is the first time a Syrian president has visited the White House since the establishment of Syria in the 40s of the last century.”

“After the fall of the former regime, Syria has entered into a new era and this will build on a new strategy specially with the United States,” Al-Sharaa added. 

Syria joins US-led international coalition against ISIS

When he was asked whether he committed to having his country join the US-led international coalition to fight ISIS in the West Asia region, Al-Sharaa answered:

“We have fought many battles against ISIS over the past ten years and endured great suffering, losing a significant number of men. While there are reasons for the US military presence in Syria, this presence must now be coordinated with the Syrian government. We need to discuss these issues and reach an agreement regarding ISIS.”

On Tuesday, November 11, Syria’s information minister, Hamza al-Mustafa, and a US official announced that Syria signed a “political declaration” with the coalition, confirming that it will have a role in “combating terrorism and supporting regional stability”.

However, Al-Mustafa clarified that “the agreement is political and until now contains no military components.”

Al-Sharaa offers extraction of Syria’s gas to become US ally

Al-Sharaa also told Fox News that he discussed with Trump future investment opportunities in Syria, particularly the extraction of gas by the United States.

“We talked about the investment opportunities in the future in Syria, so that Syria is no longer looked at as a security threat. It is now looked at as a geopolitical ally. And it’s a place where the United States can have great investments, especially extracting gas,” he noted.

Regarding Syria’s future relation with Israel, Al-Sharaa ruled out the possibility of joining the “Abraham Accords”, but he expressed his hope that the Trump administration will help his country to reach a security agreement with Israel to end its occupation of the Golan Heights.

“I believe that the situation in Syria is different from the situation of the countries that signed on to the Abraham Accords. Syria has borders with Israel, and Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967. We are not going to enter into negotiations directly right now. Maybe the United States administration with President Trump will help us reach this kind of negotiation.”

Nevertheless, Al-Sharaa provided contradictory statements regarding the involvement of his government in negotiations with Israel during an interview with The Washington Post on the same day of being interviewed by Fox News.

The American newspaper cited Syria’s transitional leader saying:

“We are engaged in direct negotiations with Israel, and we have gone a good distance on the way to reach an agreement. But to reach a final agreement, Israel should withdraw to their pre-Dec. 8 borders.” 

US declares partial suspension of sanctions on Syria following Al-Sharaa-Trump meeting

Syria’s interim president affirmed that lifting the sanctions imposed by the United States on the Arab country was among the most important topics, which he discussed with his US counterpart.

As both nations are looking forward to bolstering mutual security and economic interests, Al-Sharaa told The Washington Post that lifting the sanctions is essential for maintaining stability, which is, in turn, linked to economic development.

It is worth noting that shortly after the meeting, the United States Treasury Department announced that the Trump administration suspended key provisions of the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria for 180 days.

This partial suspension replaces a previous sanctions relief, which was granted by the US to Syria in May with the same 180-day duration.

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch