Syria joins alliance against Isis after Trump hosts ex-jihadist president at White House
President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s White House visit caps a remarkable turnaround for a former jihadist who once had a US$10 million bounty on his head
Syria is joining the global coalition against Islamic State, a US official said on Monday hours after President Donald Trump welcomed his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa for historic White House talks.
Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, was the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the Middle Eastern country’s independence in 1946.
But the 43-year-old’s landmark visit to the Oval Office came just days after Washington removed him from its terrorism list. Sharaa’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda.
“During the visit, Syria announced that it is joining the Global Coalition to Defeat Isis,” becoming the 90th member of the alliance and “partnering with the United States to eliminate Isis remnants and halt foreign fighter flows,” a senior administration official said.
According to the official, Syria will also be allowed to resume diplomatic relations with Washington “to further counterterrorism, security, and economic coordination”.