United States strives to lift UN sanctions on Syria ahead of al-Sharaa’s meeting with Trump
The United States is pressing the UN Security Council to lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa
WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) – The United States is pressing the UN Security Council to lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and senior officials just days before his planned visit to the White House, marking a potential reset in US-Syria relations.
A draft resolution obtained by the Associated Press shows that Washington is urging the 15-member Council to remove sanctions imposed on al-Sharaa and Syria’s interior minister, Anas Hasan Khattab.
The measure could be put to a vote as early as Thursday, according to a diplomatic source familiar with the discussions.
For the resolution to pass, it will require at least nine affirmative votes and no vetoes from any of the five permanent members—China, Russia, Britain, France, or the United States.
US officials are seeking to finalize the move before President Donald Trump hosts al-Sharaa in Washington on Monday—the first visit by a Syrian president to the US since Syria’s independence in 1946.
The visit is expected to culminate in Syria formally joining the US-led anti-Daesh coalition, which includes around 80 countries working to prevent the group’s resurgence.
The diplomatic initiative follows the fall of Bashar Assad’s five-decade family rule in December, when al-Sharaa led a lightning offensive that ended nearly 14 years of civil war. Since assuming power, al-Sharaa has worked to rebuild ties with Arab and Western nations.
Trump and al-Sharaa first met in Saudi Arabia in May, after which Trump pledged to ease restrictions on Syria and later ordered several sanctions lifted.
However, the most severe measures—enacted by Congress in 2019—can only be removed through legislative approval.
The war, which began in 2011 after Assad’s crackdown on dissent, killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions.
UN humanitarian chief Ramesh Rajasingham recently told the Security Council that 90% of Syrians now live in poverty, with 16.5 million requiring humanitarian assistance, including nearly 3 million facing acute food insecurity.
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