Syria will join the international coalition to fight the Islamic State group, marking a shift in US foreign policy in the Middle East, a senior Trump administration official confirmed to CBS, the BBC’s US media partner.
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House – the first such visit by a Syrian leader in the country’s history.
Diplomatic relations between Syria and the United States have been suspended since 2012, although Trump decided to restore them after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Trump has expressed support for al-Sharaa, which until recently was designated terrorist by the US government.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office several hours after the meeting, Trump said that “we want to see Syria become a very successful country.”
“And I think this leader can do it,” he added. “Really.”
Trump said more “announcements” would be coming, although he provided no details.
This is the third meeting between the two leaders, following a meeting in May on the sidelines of the Gulf Cooperation Council and a dinner at the UN General Assembly in September.
Al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House crowns a remarkable overhaul of the former jihadist’s image.
Not long ago, he led a branch of al-Qaeda – the group behind the 9/11 attacks and many others – before severing ties.
Until this year, he was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an armed Islamist group that the United States officially considered a terrorist organization until four months ago, with a $10 million bounty on his head.
The Treasury Department removed al-Sharaa from its “specially designated global terrorist list” last week.
But since becoming Syrian interim president, al-Sharaa has worked to soften his public image as he tries to rebuild Syria, with foreign support, after 13 years of war.
“He’s had a difficult past,” Trump said Monday. “And I think, frankly, if you didn’t have a difficult past, you wouldn’t have a chance.”
Al-Sharaa’s regime, however, has been marred by the killings of members of Syria’s Alawite minority, as well as deadly violence between Sunni Bedouin fighters and Druze militias.
He has pledged to eliminate members of his security forces who have committed human rights violations.
Trump, for his part, has repeatedly expressed support for al-Sharaa, calling him an “attractive young man” and a “fighter” with a “strong past.”
In June, President Trump signed an executive order lifting sanctions on Syria, which the White House said would help support the country’s “path toward stability and peace.”
At the time, the administration said it would monitor the new Syrian government’s actions, including “taking steps to normalize relations with Israel” and going after “foreign terrorists” and militant groups operating in the country.
