Name: Syrias Ahmed al-Sharaa makes historic visit to White House
Uploaded: 2025-11-10T08:51:55.554Z
Duration: 3 min 2 s
Description: Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa visits the White House—the first by a Syrian leader in 80 years—as Washington and Damascus look to rebuild ties.

Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa visits the White House—the first by a Syrian leader in 80 years—as Washington and Damascus look to rebuild ties.

Washington

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House, signaling a major transformation in the relationship between Syria and the United States. The visit comes after al-Sharaa, a former rebel commander once linked to al-Qaeda, drove Bashar al-Assad from power in December 2024 and has since sought to stabilize Syria and lift U.S. sanctions.

During his visit, al-Sharaa pressed for the removal of sanctions and discussed Syria's potential participation in the U.S.-led coalition against ISIL, as well as the possibility of joining the Abraham Accords. Despite these diplomatic efforts, ongoing tensions with Israel and internal resistance remain significant obstacles to full normalization.

Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa makes historic visit to White House

The foe who became a friend, a long-standing opponent of the U.S. beginning the process of becoming an ally. During a visit to Saudi Arabia, President Trump seeking out and shaking hands with the new president of Syria, a clear signal of a new era in relations. There is a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace. This is what we want to see in Syria. In the capital Damascus, crowds celebrated as they heard that President Trump had committed to lifting sanctions on Syria, just as they celebrated when as a rebel commander, Ahmed al-Sharaa entered the capital in December 2024, driving into exile the man who had ruled Syria for so long, Bashar al-Assad. And at the U.N. in New York in September this year, there was an astonishing meeting as former General David Petraeus met the once al-Qaeda-linked commander he'd fought in Iraq. Please help us understand how you got from al-Qaeda in Iraq 20 years ago to where you are today. We were once on a battlefield, and now we have moved to a field of dialogue. Those who have experienced war are the ones who best understand the importance of peace. In meeting the U.S. Secretary of State on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, the Syrian president continued to press for the lifting of sanctions. It's the U.S. Congress that has the power to permanently lift the sanctions, and President al-Sharaa will be asking President Trump to bring pressure to bear. For his part, Trump will be seeking agreement from Syria to join the U.S.-led coalition against ISIL, the first step in loosening Syria's close ties with Russia. But from the moment the U.S. reopened its embassy in Damascus, the Trump administration had a primary objective for a new Syria to forget or forgive decades of conflict and sign on to the Abraham Accords to recognize Israel. We need to start with just a non-aggression agreement, talk about boundaries and borders. Syria was locked in conflict with Israel as recently as July this year, Israel claiming that Syrian forces were attacking Druze communities in the south and carrying out powerful airstrikes in Damascus. Despite the Syrian president agreeing to a ceasefire, the violence underscored the depths of resistance to Israel, and full recognition by Syria of Israel at this stage appears to be more of a U.S. dream than a reality. The U.S. once offered a $10 million reward for the capture of a man known then as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. And in a world where this week he visits the White House as President Ahmad al-Sharaa of Syria, perhaps anything is possible. Mike Hanna, Al Jazeera, Washington.

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