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Ahmed al-Sharaa — who 20 years ago was thrown into a US detention centre in Iraq after he joined al-Qaeda militants fighting the Americans — will on Monday become the first Syrian president to visit the White House since the country’s independence in 1946.
The meeting with Donald Trump is set to cap an extraordinary transformation for the erstwhile rebel leader who toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad nearly a year ago.
Since seizing power last December, Sharaa, 43, has worked hard to court friends and allies after decades of Assad family rule and 14 years of ruinous civil war left Syria internationally isolated.
His charm offensive has largely worked. Western and Arab states — spurred by Washington —have lifted most of the economic sanctions imposed in the Assad era and built closer ties with a state they had long shunned.
Sharaa’s government has appealed to western sensibilities by touting free markets and foreign investment, political inclusion and a pluralistic society. But the government is also dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist insurgent group Sharaa once led, and critics say attempts at political inclusion have been superficial.
They also point to eruptions of sectarian violence throughout the past year, including when hundreds of civilians from the Alawite and Druze religious minorities were killed by state security forces and pro-government gunmen in fierce clashes. The government pledged to hold the perpetrators accountable, but many Syrians, particularly among minority communities, remain sceptical.
Ahead of Monday’s meeting, Trump said: “I think [Sharaa’s] doing a very good job. It’s a tough neighbourhood, and he’s a tough guy, but I got along with him very well.”
Urged on by Washington, the UN Security Council has lifted terror-related sanctions on Sharaa and his interior minister and former al-Qaeda member Anas Khattab. The UK and US followed suit.
Sharaa first met Trump in Saudi Arabia in May. It was the first official meeting between the US and Syrian presidents since 2000, and Trump waived most of the Assad-era sanctions on Syria soon after.
But the most stringent sanctions, known as the Caesar Act, are still in place and will require a congressional vote to lift them. Sharaa has been lobbying for their full repeal, an effort supported by the White House and the State Department.
But the vote is being held up by House Republicans, who want to make its repeal conditional on the protection of minorities, removing foreign fighters from state institutions and improving relations with Israel.Sharaa met Republican congressman Brian Mast on Sunday, who has been one of the key obstacles in Congress.
Syria’s economic recovery has stalled as a result of the lingering sanctions, and foreign companies are wary of investing until their full repeal. Syrian companies are finding it difficult to raise funds or import goods because of sanctions-compliance concerns. The World Bank estimates it will take more than $200bn to rebuild the war-ravaged nation.
Talks between Sharaa and Trump on Monday are also likely to focus on security, including Israel, Isis and Kurdish-led forces.
Sharaa is expected to formally sign Syria up to the global anti-Isis coalition. While HTS was briefly allied to Isis, it spent years fighting its remnants once they parted ways. Despite no longer having territorial control, Isis cells continue to carry out attacks in Syria. Sharaa’s security forces have conducted raids on the group in recent weeks.
For years, Washington’s main ally in fighting Isis has been the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which control the country’s north-east. Talks to merge the SDF and Damascus’s security forces have stalled, despite pressure from Washington to come to a resolution.
The US military has expanded its co-operation with Damascus on Isis in recent months, and is said to be considering an expansion of its military presence in Syria by sending troops to an air base in the Syrian capital.This would be a boost to Sharaa’s fledgling presidency, analysts said.
“It’s great for Sharaa, in that he will be backed up by a major power, and great for the US in terms of its footprint in the region and having decisive influence over Damascus. It’s a win-win,” said Syrian analyst Malik al-Abdeh.
Moscow, a financial and military backer for Assad, has sought to smooth things over with Sharaa’s government over the past year in order to keep its strategically important air base and naval port in the country. Last month, Sharaa met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow in what was billed as a “reset” in relations.
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