UN Security Council lifts sanctions on al-Sharaa, his interior minister

The Security Council approved lifting sanctions on Syria’s transitional government head Ahmed al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Hassan Khattab prior to al-Shara’s upcoming visit to the White House.

The resolution, supported by 14 council members with China abstaining, stated: “The Council decides to remove Ahmed al-Sharaa… and (Interior Minister) Anas Hassan Khattab from the sanctions list targeting individuals and groups associated with ISIS and Al-Qaeda.”

US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, welcomed the decision, saying that “by adopting this approach, the Council sent a strong political message that Syria has entered a new era.”

China abstained from the vote, with its ambassador Fu Cong expressing concern over the presence of “foreign terrorist fighters” in Syria capable of “exploiting the fragile security situation,” and regretted that the Council had not fully assessed the situation.

Following the vote, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “appreciation” to the United States for supporting Syria and its people. Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani posted on X: “Syria expresses its gratitude to the United States and friendly countries for supporting Syria and its people,” adding that Syrian diplomacy “reaffirms its active presence and ability to achieve progress steadily by removing obstacles and paving the way toward a more open and stable Syrian future.”

President Donald Trump is scheduled to host al-Sharaa on November 10 for talks, noting that the former jihadist has made “good progress” toward establishing peace in his war-torn country.

Although this will be Al-Sharaa’s first visit to Washington, it will be his second trip to the US following a visit to the United Nations in September, when he became the first Syrian head of state in decades to address the UN General Assembly in New York.

In July, Washington removed the armed group led by al-Sharaa, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, from its list of terrorist organizations.

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ANHA