The US has announced a partial suspension of sanctions on Syria after a historic meeting in Washington DC between its new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Donald Trump.
Monday’s meeting was the first summit between a US and Syrian leader at the White House since 1946. The encounter marks a remarkable turnaround in US-Syrian relations after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, whose forces collapsed in December 2024 following a civil war that began in 2011.
Sharaa, a former al-Qaida-aligned rebel fighter who once had a $10m bounty, arrived at the White House in a dark suit and red tie to lobby Trump for sanction relief. Video showed him greeting a crowd of supporters outside in a rare public appearance.
“He’s a very strong leader,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “He comes from a very tough place. Tough guy. I like him. I get along with the president, the new president in Syria, and we’ll do everything we can to make Syria successful, because that’s part of the Middle East.”
After the meeting, US secretary of state Marco Rubio announced a 180-day suspension of some sanctions under the Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, commonly called the Caesar Act, which targets Syria’s energy industry and had deterred foreign investment in postwar reconstruction. The exemptions excluded “certain transactions involving the governments of Russia and Iran, or the transfer of provisions of Russian-origin or Iranian-origin goods, technology, software, funds, financing or services”.
Announcing the sanctions and export control reliefs, the US government said in a press release: “President Trump is delivering on his commitment to give Syria ‘a chance at greatness’ and to let them rebuild and thrive by lifting US sanctions and ensuring accountability for harmful actors.”
Sharaa is a former rebel and leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), previously affiliated with al-Qaida and designated a terrorist organisation by the US. After his forces toppled Assad, HTS was removed from the list of foreign terrorist organisations and the bounty on Sharaa was rescinded.
The US has said it wants Syria to join a US-led coalition against Islamic State, and Syria has said it plans to reopen its embassy in Washington, closed during Assad’s rule. That embassy reopening was not announced on Monday, though Sharaa said the sides had reached a “political” agreement.
Asked whether further announcements about Syria joining the coalition against Islamic State or a security pact with Israel were coming, Trump said: “Yes, you can expect an announcement on Syria. We want to see Syria become a country that’s very successful.”
Syria’s foreign ministry said it had agreed with the US to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian army.
