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Assad, Bashar al-

Trump to Host Syria's Interim Leader for Historic Talks on November 10

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is set to visit the United States on November 10, marking the first-ever visit by a Syrian president to the US capital. The visit, confirmed by US envoy Tom Barrack, aims to sign an agreement to join the international US-led coalition against the ISIL (ISIS) group. This historic meeting comes as Syria seeks to re-establish ties with world powers and bolster its international standing.

Key Takeaways:

  • The visit marks the first time a Syrian president has paid an official visit to Washington, with no previous Syrian president having made such a trip.
  • Al-Sharaa, who seized power from Bashar al-Assad last December, is seeking to re-establish Syria's ties with world powers that had shunned Damascus during al-Assad's rule.
  • The US is aiming to recruit Damascus to join the coalition led since 2014 to fight against ISIL, with the US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, stating that "we are trying to get everybody to be a partner in this alliance, which is huge for them."
  • Al-Sharaa once led a Syrian offshoot of al-Qaeda, but broke away from the network a decade ago and later clashed with ISIL, which controlled about a third of Syria and Iraq at its peak.
  • Al-Sharaa's planned visit to Washington comes as Trump is urging Middle East allies to seize the moment to build a durable peace in the volatile region after Israel and Hamas implemented a ceasefire and captives' deal.
  • Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli air strikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.

Statistics:

  • The US-led coalition has been fighting against ISIL since 2014.
  • At its peak, between 2014 and 2017, ISIL controlled about a third of Syria and Iraq.
  • Al-Sharaa once had a $10m US reward on his head.
  • The US-led coalition and its local partners drove ISIL from its last stronghold in Syria in 2019.
  • Israeli strikes in Gaza earlier this week killed 104 people, including dozens of women and children, the enclave's health authorities said.

Sources:

  • Axios newspaper, cited by Washington's envoy to Damascus, Tom Barrack.
  • Reuters news agency, citing a Syrian source familiar with the matter.
  • US State Department's historical list of foreign leader visits.
  • Tom Barrack, US envoy to Syria, at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.

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