Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara met with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, capping an extraordinary period for the 42-year-old rebel-ruler.
Less than a year ago, al-Sharaa led Islamist fighters from Syria’s northwest in a massive offensive that ousted Bashar Assad after 14 years of civil war.
What was on Trump and Shaara’s agenda?
This week’s talks, the first between a Syrian president and a US leader in Washington, were said to focus on regional security. The pair first met six months ago at the Gulf Security Summit in Riyadh.
According to diplomatic sources, the US is mediating a potential security agreement between Syria and Israel and is considering a small military presence at the Damascus airbase.
Trump, who recently lifted most US sanctions on Syria, said before the meeting that “a lot of progress has been made with Syria” and praised al-Sharaa as “a tough guy in a tough neighborhood.”
But making permanent the toughest sanctions on Syria under the Caesar Act still requires congressional repeal — a move al-Sharaa is expected to take in order to attract reconstruction funds.
What is happening in Syria right now?
Al-Sharaa’s government has been tightening control in the face of renewed sectarian unrest that has killed more than 2,500 people since Assad’s fall. Two Islamic State plots to assassinate him were reportedly foiled in recent months, prompting a nationwide crackdown on the group.
However, doubters of the Syrian leader have pointed to a wave of sectarian violence in which pro-government Sunni gunmen have killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite and Druze minorities.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko