In an interview with CBS News aired on Sunday, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that he hopes to meet President Donald Trump again to restore US-Syria ties “in a good and direct way.”
“President Trump took a big step towards Syria by lifting the sanctions with a quick, courageous and historic decision,” the Syrian President said.
But he added, “I believe the world must not be complicit again in the killing of the Syrian people by slowing down or preventing the lifting of sanctions and preventing them from reconstructing their nation.”
In the interview, al-Sharaa said Trump recognized that Syria should be safe, stable and unified. “This is in the greatest interest for all countries of the world, not just Syria. We need to discuss a great many issues and mutual interests between Syria and the USA. We must restore relations in a good and direct way,” the President noted.
He then stressed that the new authorities in Syria have restored hope for the people who are refugees or internally displaced, so they can return to their homeland.
“We supported the people who were bombed with chemical weapons. We also confronted ISIS. We expelled the Iranian militias and Hezbollah from the region,” he said.
Al-Sharaa on Sunday arrived in Washington, then departed for a landmark visit to New York to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, marking the first visit by a Syrian president to the forum in six decades.
The President is heading a high-ranking delegation of ministers, including Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed Saleh, and Social Affairs and Labor Minister, Hind Kabawat.
The visit marks a major diplomatic moment for Damascus as it returns to the UN stage at the head-of-state level for the first time after nearly six decades.
Al-Sharaa is likely to use his five-day stay in the US to hold a series of high-level meetings with officials and senators and push for further sanctions relief for Syria.
Another topic that will loom large during al-Sharaa’s visit is his country’s relations with Israel as a security agreement is expected to be signed between the two.
Informed sources also said the Syrian President will meet with the Syrian diaspora on Sunday evening.
Syrian state news agency reported early on Monday that al-Sharaa arrived in New York to attend meetings of the UN General Assembly, the first participation of a Syrian president since 1967.
Al-Sharaa scored a major diplomatic victory in May when he won recognition from US President Donald Trump at a meeting in Riyadh, only days after his visit to Paris where the Syrian President held talks with his French counterpart.
The US subsequently lifted most sanctions on Syria and the Trump administration has voiced its support for Sharaa's efforts to unify and stabilize the country.
Last April, Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani, attended a UN Security Council briefing after raising his country’s new flag at the international body’s headquarters. It was the first public appearance by a high-ranking Syrian government official in the United States since the fall of President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December.
