UN lifts sanctions on Syrian president ahead of White House visit

The United Nations Security Council has voted in favour of a US-led resolution to lift international sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, days before his scheduled visit to Washington.

The resolution, adopted on November 6 with 14 votes in favour and one abstention from China, removes al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattab from the UN’s sanctions list linked to ISIS and al-Qaeda, Caliber.Az reports per Arab media.

Although largely symbolic — as exemptions had routinely been granted to allow the Syrian leader to travel abroad — the move formally ends the asset freezes and arms embargoes imposed on Damascus’ leadership.

US President Donald Trump is set to host al-Sharaa at the White House on November 10. Trump has praised the Syrian president for making what he described as “good progress” in advancing peace efforts following years of conflict.

The visit marks al-Sharaa’s first to Washington as Syria’s head of state, but his second trip to the United States this year after addressing the UN General Assembly in New York in September — the first Syrian leader to do so in decades.

Al-Sharaa, whose forces overthrew former dictator Bashar al-Assad late last year, first met Trump in Riyadh in May during the US president’s Middle East tour.

According to Syrian officials, discussions in Washington will centre on lifting remaining sanctions, reconstruction efforts and counter-terrorism cooperation.

While Syria and Israel remain technically at war, the two countries began direct negotiations following Assad’s downfall. Trump has expressed optimism that Syria could eventually join other Arab states that have normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

Earlier this year, a senior Syrian official told AFP that Damascus expects to finalise security and military agreements with Israel by 2025 — a potential breakthrough less than a year after Assad’s ouster.

Since December, Israel has stationed troops in a UN-monitored buffer zone along the border and carried out numerous air strikes inside Syria. Damascus has not responded militarily to the attacks.

By Aghakazim Guliyev