Syria's foreign minister in Washington for first visit by Damascus official in 25 years

Syria's foreign minister in Washington for first visit by Damascus official in 25 years

Syria's foreign minister was in Washington on Thursday, kicking off the first official visit to the United States by a top Syrian official in 25 years as the new government in Damascus struggles to recover from the civil war and boost relations with the West following the fall of autocrat Bashar Assad.

Washington has steadily been easing sanctions imposed on Syria under Assad since after US President Donald Trump met interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May — a key event that set Syria's new authorities on the path to end decades of international isolation.

The new Syrian foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani, was in Washington earlier this year but only to attend meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He also visited New York where he held talks at the United Nations.

This time, al-Shibani — who is also in negotiations with Israel to try reach a security agreement along the two countries' tense border — and his delegation is expected to hold talks with U.S. officials and also meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Syrian foreign ministry's media office released a brief statement about al-Shibani and the delegation's arrival “on an official historic visit" to Washington.

Axios, a US-based news website, said al-Shibani will be in Washington for talks on Capitol Hill about permanently lifting the remaining sanctions against Syria and was also expected to meet Rubio during his visit.

Al-Sharaa is expected to fly to New York next week for the UN General Assembly, becoming the first Syrian head of state to attend the meeting in decades.

Trump signed an executive order in June ending many US economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to al-Sharaa during their meeting.

Last month, al-Shibani held a rare direct meeting with an Israeli delegation in Paris, talks that were brokered by the US as part of a diplomatic push for Syria and Israel to improve relations despite a recent surge in tensions between them.