US moves to lift UN sanctions on Syrian president ahead of Trump meeting

The United States has submitted a draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the lifting of sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on November 10.

The proposed resolution, seen by Reuters, would also remove sanctions on Syria’s Interior Minister Anas Khattab. It remains unclear when the measure will be put to a vote. To be adopted, the resolution must receive at least nine votes in favour and avoid vetoes from any of the Council’s five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, France, or the United Kingdom.

Washington has been urging the 15-member Council for months to ease restrictions on Damascus, arguing that the move is necessary to support regional stability and humanitarian recovery.

Syria’s longtime president Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December following a rapid offensive by insurgent forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group that once served as al-Qaeda’s official affiliate in Syria. HTS was added to the U.N. Security Council’s al-Qaeda and Islamic State sanctions list in 2014, subjecting its leadership — including Sharaa and Khattab — to a travel ban, asset freeze, and arms embargo.

Despite these restrictions, the U.N. sanctions committee has granted Sharaa multiple travel exemptions this year, allowing him to attend diplomatic events abroad. Even if the new U.S.-drafted resolution is not approved before his scheduled Washington visit, Sharaa is still expected to receive permission to travel.

President Trump first announced a major shift in U.S. policy toward Syria in May, signalling plans to lift American sanctions and pursue direct engagement with the country’s new leadership.

According to a U.N. monitoring report seen by Reuters in July, there have been no “active ties” detected this year between al-Qaeda and HTS, a finding that may further bolster Washington’s case for easing sanctions.

By Vugar Khalilov