The State Department announced on Friday that the United Nations Security Council lifted the terrorist designation of two Syrian officials, including the country’s new president Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The adoption of a resolution “championed by the United States” to delist al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattub “sent a strong political signal that further recognizes Syria’s transition to a new chapter,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
“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.
As the new Syrian government moves forward, it will “fulfill its commitments on countering terrorism and narcotics, eliminating any remnants of chemical weapons and promoting regional security and stability as well as an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process,” the statement concluded.
Syria’s new president is also expected to sign an agreement to join the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.
Al-Sharaa is expected to meet with President Trump on Monday in what will be the first time a U.S. president has hosted a Syrian president at the White House. The two previously met in Saudi Arabia in May, the first meeting between the two nations’ leaders since former President Clinton’s administration 25 years ago.
Al-Sharaa, under the name Abu Mohammed al-Golani, had ties with al-Qaeda, fought U.S. troops in Iraq and was even imprisoned by American forces after taking part in Syria’s civil war.
Monday’s planned meeting also comes at a time when civil society groups are pressuring House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) to allow for sanctions on Syria to be lifted. There is bipartisan support to include a repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“Discussions on Caesar Repeal are ongoing but my concerns should be obvious to anyone following the situation in Syria,” Mast previously said in a statement to The Hill.
Repealing the Caesar Act would also allow the U.S. to receive information about detained, missing or dead Americans in Syria, which prompted families to write to Mast on Tuesday urging for the act to be repealed.
“While the law was originally meant to hold perpetrators of the Assad regime’s atrocities accountable, it now stands in the way of efforts that could help families like ours finally learn the fate of our loved ones,” the letter stated.
The letter was signed by Diane Foley, mother of James Foley, an American killed in Syria in 2014; Maryam Kamalmaz, daughter of Majd Kamalmaz, who disappeared in Syria in 2017; Danny Samin, son of Jamil Samin, an American disappeared in Syria in 2013; and Americans who were wrongfully detained in Syria.
Laura Kelly contributed.
Source: The Hill
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