Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa heading to US: state media

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has departed for the United States, state media reported Sunday, on a landmark trip that will see the former jihadist address the United Nations General Assembly.

State television said Sharaa was enroute “to the United States of America to participate in the affairs of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York”, citing a presidency statement.

Sharaa seized power in December after his Islamist group led a coalition that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad after nearly 14 years of civil war and more than half a century of brutal Assad family rule.

He is set to speak at the UN General Assembly in New York, the first Syrian leader to do so since Nureddin al-Atassi in 1967.

Sharaa has undergone a dramatic transformation since taking power, meeting foreign leaders including US President Donald Trump in Riyadh and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on his first trip to the West.

The Syrian leader remains under UN sanctions, and a travel ban due to his jihadist past and must request exemptions for all foreign trips.

His foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, is already in Washington for an official visit.

Shaibani’s office said he held a series of meetings since his arrival, including with US senators and state department officials.

He also met with the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, as the international community presses Syria’s new authorities to protect minorities in the multi-confessional country, which has seen sectarian bloodshed in recent months.

A foreign ministry official had said Shaibani’s trip aimed to discuss ongoing negotiations with Israel and the lifting of remaining US sanctions on Syria.

Syria and Israel remain technically at war, but opened direct negotiations after Assad’s ouster, and Syrian and Israeli officials have met on several occasions.

The United States already lifted most sanctions it imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule after his overthrow.

The foreign ministry official had said Syria expected to finalise security and military agreements with Israel this year, in what would be a breakthrough.

Israel has demanded a demilitarised zone in southern Syria.

Last week, Sharaa said Syria was negotiating with Israel to reach a security agreement that would see Israel leave the areas it occupied in recent months.