Sharaa to become 1st Syrian president at White House

WASHINGTON

Syria's President Ahmad al-Sharaa is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Nov. 10 at the White House during a landmark official visit, days after Washington removed him from a blacklist.

Sharaa’s schedule meeting at the White House will be first such visit by a Syrian president since the country's independence in 1946.

The interim leader met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the U.S. president's regional tour in May. Sharaa also delivered a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September.

After his arrival in the U.S. on Nov. 8, Sharaa met with representatives from Syrian organizations in Washington.

The Syrian foreign minister posted a social media video in which Sharaa playing basketball with CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper and Kevin Lambert, the head of the international anti-ISIL operation in Iraq, alongside the caption "work hard, play harder."

Washington'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 ISIL terrorist organization.

In a related development, the Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Nov. 8 that it had carried out 61 raids and made 71 arrests in a "proactive campaign to neutralize the threat" of ISIL.

It said the raids targeted locations where ISIL sleeper cells remain, including Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and Damascus.

Media also reported that Trump and Sharaa will discuss a possible the U.S. base in Damascus.

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.

Syria and Israel have been in talks for months to sign a security agreement. Recently Israeli sources said the talks neared the conclusion and are expected to finalize before the end of the year.

Sharaa’s visit came after the State Department's decision to remove Sharaa from the blacklist.

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.

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."

On Nov. 6, Washington also led a vote by the Security Council to remove U.N. sanctions against him.

During visit, Sharaa is expected to seek funds for Syria, which faces significant challenges in rebuilding after 13 years of civil war.