U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet on Monday at the White House with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday.
Since coming to power following the ousting of former President Bashar al-Assad last December, Sharaa has undertaken a series of foreign trips while his transitional government seeks to restore Syria’s ties with global powers that had largely ignored Damascus during the Assad regime, Reuters reports.
Trump has aimed to maintain good relations with the Syrian president. In June, he lifted most of the sanctions against Syria and met with President Sharaa during his visit to Saudi Arabia in May.
“When the president was in the Middle East, he made the historic decision to lift sanctions on Syria to give the country a genuine opportunity for peace. I believe the administration has seen good progress on that front under its new leadership,” said the White House Press Secretary.
