President Donald Trump is set to host Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on November 10, marking the first visit by a Syrian leader to the United States in history, according to an administration official who spoke on background Saturday.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, said the meeting has not yet been formally announced but will likely focus on Syria’s post-war reconstruction and US-Middle East relations, reports Reuters.
The two leaders last met in May, during Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia for the Gulf Cooperation Council summit, their first encounter and the first time in 25 years that an American and Syrian head of state had met face-to-face.
Al-Sharaa’s rise to power came after ousting the Assad government in December. Once known by the alias Abu Mohammed al-Golani, he previously led the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and at one time had a $10 million US bounty on his head. He was captured and imprisoned by US forces in Iraq during the 2000s before later returning to Syria.
Since taking office, al-Sharaa has worked to rebrand himself as a reformer, distancing his government from the sectarian violence that defined Syria’s past. In a recent podcast appearance, he praised Trump’s foreign policy approach, saying the US president could “play a big role in achieving global peace.”
“He is focused on domestic policy [and] revitalising the US economy. He’s also interested in peacebuilding in the Middle East,” Sharaa said.
However, the Syrian leader criticized Trump’s previous comments about “clearing out” Gaza, arguing, “It would be neither wise nor morally or politically right for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land.”
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, said the meeting has not yet been formally announced but will likely focus on Syria’s post-war reconstruction and US-Middle East relations, reports Reuters.
The two leaders last met in May, during Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia for the Gulf Cooperation Council summit, their first encounter and the first time in 25 years that an American and Syrian head of state had met face-to-face.
Al-Sharaa’s rise to power came after ousting the Assad government in December. Once known by the alias Abu Mohammed al-Golani, he previously led the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and at one time had a $10 million US bounty on his head. He was captured and imprisoned by US forces in Iraq during the 2000s before later returning to Syria.
Since taking office, al-Sharaa has worked to rebrand himself as a reformer, distancing his government from the sectarian violence that defined Syria’s past. In a recent podcast appearance, he praised Trump’s foreign policy approach, saying the US president could “play a big role in achieving global peace.”
“He is focused on domestic policy [and] revitalising the US economy. He’s also interested in peacebuilding in the Middle East,” Sharaa said.
However, the Syrian leader criticized Trump’s previous comments about “clearing out” Gaza, arguing, “It would be neither wise nor morally or politically right for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land.”
