Trump Holds Quiet Talks with Former Al-Qaeda Syrian Leader, Offers Sanctions Relief as a Gift (Summary)

President Al-Shara holds a meeting without media exposure… First Syrian presidential visit to the White House since the country’s founding
Caesar Act sanctions postponed for 180 days to boost Syrian reconstruction efforts,
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U.S. President Donald Trump (right) meeting with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Shara in Saudi Arabia
[AP Yonhap News file photo. No redistribution or DB storage allowed],
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, ‘ (Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondents Park Seong-min and Hong Jeong-gyu = U.S. President Donald Trump held a summit with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Shara at the White House on the 10th (local time).’,
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, ‘President Al-Shara arrived at the White House at 11:37 a.m. for a nearly two-hour meeting with President Trump. The arrival and meeting of President Al-Shara were not disclosed to the media.’,
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, ‘Reuters reported, “President Al-Shara arrived at the White House without the usual pomp and ceremony typically associated with foreign state visits,” adding that “he entered through a side entrance out of sight of reporters, instead of the main entrance of the West Wing where cameras are stationed.”‘,
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, ‘This is the first time since Syria’s founding in 1946 that a Syrian president has visited the White House in Washington, D.C.’,
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, ‘Notably, President Al-Shara is a figure who was detained in a U.S. military prison in Iraq for years as a member of the Islamic extremist terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.’,
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, “President Al-Shara founded the Al-Qaeda-linked group ‘Nusra Front’ following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 but broke ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016.”,
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, “Subsequently, he integrated four rebel groups in northern Syria to form the Islamist militant group ‘Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’ (HTS), and played a leading role in ousting the long-standing authoritarian Assad regime in Syria last December.”,
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, ‘President Al-Shara meeting with President Trump in the U.S. capital is seen symbolically as Syria, long isolated under international sanctions, begins to collaborate and open up relations with the U.S. and the West.’,
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, ‘While President Trump normally allows media coverage and takes questions from reporters during foreign leader meetings at the White House that can last up to an hour, this summit was conducted privately, likely due to President Al-Shara’s Al-Qaeda-related background.’,
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, ‘Though showing cooperative behavior with the U.S. now, publicizing any hospitable treatment of President Al-Shara, a figure with past connections to the perpetrators of the September 11 terrorist attacks, could stir public discord.’,
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, “To spur the reconstruction of war-torn and sanction-stricken Syria, the U.S. decided to suspend sanctions under the ‘Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act’ (Caesar Act) for 180 days.”,
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, ‘The Trump administration announced in a joint statement from the Treasury, State, and Commerce Departments that “by suspending certain sanctions under the Caesar Act, we signal a commitment to easing ongoing sanctions against Syria.”‘,
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, ‘The Caesar Act, effective since 2019, is named after an army photographer’s codename who exposed civilian massacres and torture under the Assad regime. It primarily introduces secondary sanctions on third-country businesses and individuals transacting with the Syrian government, military, or financial institutions.’,
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, ‘These sanctions effectively isolated the Syrian regime by blocking transactions in sectors like construction, energy, finance, and aviation. Temporarily lifting these sanctions aims to assist in reconstruction efforts.’,
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, ‘However, it was clarified that “this suspension does not apply to transactions related to the Russian and Iranian governments or the transfer of Russian and Iranian goods, technologies, software, assets, finances, or services.” ‘,
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, ‘Previously, President Trump met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and President Al-Shara during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May. Following this, he promised to lift certain sanctions against Syria.’,
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, ‘Subsequently, an executive order of 2004 freezing assets of certain individuals in Syria and banning exports of specific goods was lifted on June 30, and on July 8, the foreign terrorist organization designation for the HTS founded by President Al-Shara was rescinded, gradually easing economic and diplomatic sanctions.’,
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, ‘The federal government stated that sanctions against Assad, his associates, human rights violators, drug traffickers, and perpetrators of regional instability, described as “most egregious individuals,” will remain in place.’,
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