Syria is joining a global coalition against the Islamic State group (ISIS), a US official said on Monday, hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to do everything he can to make Syria successful after historic talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who until recently was sanctioned by Washington as a foreign terrorist.
Al-Sharaa’s visit capped a stunning year for the rebel-turned-ruler who toppled longtime autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad and has since traveled the world trying to depict himself as a moderate who wants to unify his war-ravaged nation and end its decades of international isolation.
One of al-Sharaa’s chief aims in Washington was to push for full removal of the toughest US sanctions. While he met with Trump behind closed doors, the US Department of the Treasury announced a 180-day extension of its suspension of enforcement of the so-called Caesar sanctions, but only the US Congress can lift them entirely.
Photo: EPA
Trump met with al-Sharaa in the first-ever visit by a Syrian president to Washington, six months after their first meeting in Saudi Arabia, where the US leader announced plans to lift sanctions, and just days after the US said he was no longer a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.”
“During the visit, Syria announced that it is joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” becoming the 90th member of the alliance and “partnering with the United States to eliminate ISIS remnants and halt foreign fighter flows,” a senior Trump administration official said.
According to the official, Syria will also be allowed to resume diplomatic relations with Washington “to further counterterrorism, security and economic coordination.”
Photo: Syrian Presidency press office via AP
In an unusually muted welcome, al-Sharaa, who once had a US$10 million US bounty on his head, arrived without the fanfare usually given to foreign dignitaries. He entered through a side door where reporters only got a glimpse instead of through the West Wing main door where cameras often capture Trump greeting high-profile figures.
Speaking to reporters, Trump praised al-Sharaa as a “strong leader” and voiced confidence in him.
“We’ll do everything we can to make Syria successful,” he said.
Trump also gave a nod to al-Sharaa’s controversial past.
“People said he’s had a rough past, we’ve all had rough pasts ... and I think, frankly, if you didn’t have a rough past, you wouldn’t have a chance.”
Al-Sharaa later told Fox News that his association with the militant group was a matter of the past and was not discussed in his meeting with Trump.
Syria is now seen as a geopolitical ally of Washington and not a threat, al-Sharaa said.
Trump said Syria was a “big part” of his plan for a wider Middle East peace plan, which the US president is hoping will prop up the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“Having a stable and successful Syria is very important to all countries in the Region,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after the meeting.
Despite this, Trump would not confirm reports that Syria would sign any nonaggression pact with long-term foe Israel.
James Watson — the Nobel laureate co-credited with the pivotal discovery of DNA’s double-helix structure, but whose career was later tainted by his repeated racist remarks — has died, his former lab said on Friday. He was 97. The eminent biologist died on Thursday in hospice care on Long Island in New York, announced the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he was based for much of his career. Watson became among the 20th century’s most storied scientists for his 1953 breakthrough discovery of the double helix with researcher partner Francis Crick. Along with Crick and Maurice Wilkins, he shared the
OUTRAGE: The former strongman was accused of corruption and responsibility for the killings of hundreds of thousands of political opponents during his time in office Indonesia yesterday awarded the title of national hero to late president Suharto, provoking outrage from rights groups who said the move was an attempt to whitewash decades of human rights abuses and corruption that took place during his 32 years in power. Suharto was a US ally during the Cold War who presided over decades of authoritarian rule, during which up to 1 million political opponents were killed, until he was toppled by protests in 1998. He was one of 10 people recognized by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in a televised ceremony held at the presidential palace in Jakarta to mark National
LANDMARK: After first meeting Trump in Riyadh in May, al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House today would be the first by a Syrian leader since the country’s independence Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the US on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country’s state news agency SANA reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted long-time former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House today. It is the first such visit by a Syrian president since the country’s independence in 1946, according to analysts. The interim leader met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president’s regional tour in May. US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack earlier
US President Donald Trump handed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a one-year exemption from sanctions for buying Russian oil and gas after the close right-wing allies held a chummy White House meeting on Friday. Trump slapped sanctions on Moscow’s two largest oil companies last month after losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his refusal to end the nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. However, while Trump has pushed other European countries to stop buying oil that he says funds Moscow’s war machine, Orban used his first trip to the White House since Trump’s return to power to push for
RSS