Trump to host Syrian president in historic White House meeting amid push for regional peace

President Donald Trump is preparing to welcome Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday in what functionaries describe as a historic step toward testing whether Damascus can be drawn back into diplomacy after years of war and isolation The high-profile meeting underscores a new chapter in U S Syria relations after more than a decade of hostility A senior administration official explained Fox News Digital the visit will focus on counterterrorism cooperation economic evolution and advancing regional peace and prevention During the visit the official disclosed Syria will announce that it is joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Syria will thus become the th member of the D-ISIS Coalition partnering with the United States to eliminate ISIS remnants and halt foreign fighter flows The visit follows a week of major initiative shifts On Thursday the U N Prevention Council voted - with China abstaining to remove sanctions on al-Sharaa and Syria s interior minister Additionally Reuters announced that al-Sharaa and his interior minister Anas Khattab had formerly been subject to financial sanctions targeted at al Qaeda and ISIS with the United States designating them Specially Designated Global Terrorists SYRIA'S INTERIM PRESIDENT AL-SHARAA EXPECTED TO MEET WITH TRUMP IN FIRST VISIT BY SYRIAN LEADER TO WHITE HOUSEThe meeting comes about six weeks after al-Sharaa the former commander of Hay at Tahrir al-Sham once affiliated with al Qaeda addressed the U N General Assembly on Sept the first by a Syrian head of state in six decades There he urged the West to lift sanctions and called for international sponsorship to rebuild the country According to the administration official that is about to happen Treasury State and Commerce will jointly announce measures taken to lift economic restrictions and provide compliance clarity for investors The United States will allow Syria to resume operations at its Embassy in Washington to further counterterrorism measure and economic coordination Syrian functionaries are seeking a reassessment of the Caesar Act sanctions the main U S law still restricting commercial ties with Damascus The senior administration official explained Fox News Digital The Administration is issuing a -day suspension of the Caesar Act and is urging Congress to permanently repeal the Act to unlock economic upsurge The Trump Administration supports the full repeal of the Caesar Act This is in line with the President s announcement on cessation of sanctions Removal is key to allowing U S business and regional states to operate in Syria EVANGELICAL LEADER SAYS US MUST PROTECT SYRIAN CHRISTIANS FROM ATTACKS BY JIHADI TERRORISTSRep Abe Hamadeh R-Ariz who visited Damascus this summer reported Fox News Digital he views the visit as an opportunity to end years of bloodshed This is the first chance Syria has to emerge from decades of brutal oppression and more than a decade of civil war the congressman explained I went to Damascus to make sure missing Americans like Kayla Mueller are not forgotten to advocate for expanding the Abraham Accords and to remind Syria s new leaders that they must include minorities like the Druze Christians and Kurds and protect their rights On Friday about influential Christian leaders sent a letter to President Trump calling on him to raise the issue of minority rights and protection with the Syrian leader The letter was led by Dede Laugesen president of Save the Persecuted Christians and included Ralph Reed Tony Perkins Samuel Rodriguez Rob McCoy and Alveda King In it they thanked Trump for his efforts in protecting Christians and also required him to bring up the issue with al-Sharaa We urge you to address directly the massacre of Christians Kurds Druze and Alawites in Syria notably in the greater Suwayda area These religious minorities face ongoing violence death displacement starvation and water and anatomical deprivation all while innocent women and children are held hostage by ISIS terrorists Mr President we respectfully request that you secure President al-Sharaa s commitment to opening a secure humanitarian corridor from Hader to Suwayda in southern Syria This corridor will enable safe and secure aid delivery and civilian evacuation signaling the new ruling body s commitment to minority rights and stability the letter stated SYRIA S NEW PRESIDENT TAKES CENTER STAGE AT UNGA AS CONCERNS LINGER OVER TERRORIST PASTAhmad Sharawi of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies notified Fox News Digital that Washington hopes to use the meeting to pursue stability and contain Iran s influence The U S interest is having a authorities that is willing to fight ISIS and stop Iran from re-emerging he noted I think the U S will try to find a answer to the Kurdish issue in northeast Syria and build a unified country with no decentralization or federalism He cautioned that al-Sharaa s domestic record shows a political system that is not inclusive and a pattern of power centralization Despite those concerns he added plenty of Syrians see him as the only figure capable of holding the country together In October al-Sharaa traveled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin a move Sharawi commented highlights both pragmatism and jeopardy One would think that months ago when the Russians were air-striking Idlib and al-Sharaa s forces we wouldn t see al-Sharaa meeting with Putin in Moscow Sharawi commented But it s a clear indicator of how al-Sharaa operates focused on securing his interests but also being pragmatic He added that the outreach signals to the West that if you don t give me what I want I have other countries I can lean on and noted it s an effort to secure weapons and political backing after years of war and loss of equipment SYRIAN PRESIDENT'S HISTORIC UN SPEECH JOINED BY THOUSANDS RALLYING OUTSIDE FOR PEACE AND TRUMP'S AID That s why I requested CENTCOM s Gen Michael Kurilla during House Armed Services Committee hearings about these opportunities and risks and wrote the NDAA section on assessing the feasibility of defense partnerships with the new Syrian ruling body Hamadeh explained We must ensure that ISIS and Iran never return and make sure the Russians and Chinese are kept at a distance Syrian-American activist Hicham Alnchawati of the Syria Freedom Path organization communicated Fox News Digital that Syrians largely welcome the visit They re looking for a better future he declared They suffered the war there s no water no food no market and no measure He knows his interest is with the U S He s coming here to achieve mutual interests for both the U S and Syria Alnchawati argued that lasting stability will require eliminating Iran s and Hezbollah s influence If you really want stability in the Middle East you have to finish the job with Hezbollah and the Iranians he announced They have to be totally dismantled Otherwise they ll reignite the conflict one more time The United Nations and U S sanctions decisions have sparked debate in Washington and Europe Reuters and the Associated Press stated that certain lawmakers and rights groups argue that legitimizing a former jihadist commander could undercut accountability for past abuses while supporters say the relief offers Damascus an incentive to cooperate on counterterrorism and drug control Sharawi explained Fox News Digital the protocol to bid on al-Sharaa gives Damascus a powerful incentive but leaves Washington exposed The political cost of failure would be enormous