Syria will join the international coalition to prevent the Islamic State group, marking a foreign policy in the Middle East, a Senior Trump Administration Official told CBS, US Media Partner.
The announcement came as President Donald Trump met with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the White House – the first visit from a Syrian leader in Syria’s history.
Diplomatic relations between Syria and the US have been suspended since 2012, although Trump moved to restore them after the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.
Trump expressed his support for Al-Sharaa, who until now has been designated a terrorist by the US government.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office hours after the meeting, Trump said “we want to see Syria be a very successful country.”
“And I think this leader can do it,” he added. “I really am.”
Trump said more “announcements” were to come, though he had no specifics.
This is the third meeting between the two leaders, following one in May at the Gulf Cooperation Council and a dinner at the UN General Assembly in September.
Al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House Caps is a rare re-arrangement for the former jihadist.
Not long ago, he led a branch of Al-Qaeda – the group behind the 9/11 attacks and more – before breaking ties.
Even until this year, he was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an armed Islamist group that the US officially considered a terrorist organization until four months ago, with a $ 10m price on his head.
The Treasury Department removed Al-Sharaa from its “specially designated global terrorist list” last week.
But since becoming Syria’s interim president, Al-Sharaa has worked to soften his public image as he tries to rebuild Syria, with foreign support, after 13 years of war.
“He has a mediocre past,” Trump said Monday. “And I think, frankly, if you don’t have a mediocre past, you don’t have a chance.”
Al-Sharaa’s rule, however, was undermined by the killing of members of the Syrian lover, as well as by deadly violence between Sunni Bedouin Fighters and Druze militiiin.
He vowed to root out members of his security forces who committed human rights violations.
Trump, for his part, has often expressed support for Al-Sharaa, referring to him as a “young, attractive man” and an “advocate” with a “strong past”.
In June, President Trump signed an executive order increasing sanctions against Syria, which the White House said would help support “the path to stability and peace”.
At the time, the administration said it would monitor New Syria’s actions, including “taking steps toward normalizing relations with Israel” and foreign terrorists “and military groups operating in the country.”