Syria’s president arrives in US for landmark visit

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country's state news agency reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist.

Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

It's 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 U.S. president's regional tour in May.

U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said earlier this month that Sharaa would "hopefully" sign an agreement to join the international U.S.-led alliance against the Islamic State (IS).

The United States plans to establish a military base near Damascus "to coordinate humanitarian aid and observe developments between Syria and Israel," a diplomatic source in Syria told AFP.

The State Department's decision Friday to remove Sharaa from the blacklist was widely expected.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Sharaa's government had been meeting U.S. demands, including on working to find missing Americans and on eliminating any remaining chemical weapons.

"These actions are being taken in recognition of the progress demonstrated by the Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashar al-Assad and more than 50 years of repression under the Assad regime," Pigott said.

The spokesman added that the U.S. delisting would promote "regional security and stability as well as an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process."

AFP