Syrian foreign minister visits D.C. to lobby for lifting of last sanctions
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Asaad Al-Shaibani. Photo: Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani will visit Washington on Thursday for talks on Capitol Hill on permanently lifting the remaining sanctions against Syria, lawmakers and U.S. officials said.
Why it matters: This is the first visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Washington in more than 25 years.
- The visit also takes place amid a U.S. mediation effort to reach a new security agreement between Israel and Syria.
Driving the news: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Axios he expects to meet Shaibani on Thursday with several other Senators to discuss the permanent lifting of the "Caesar sanctions."
- The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, named after a Syrian military defector who smuggled out photos of torture victims, is a U.S. law that took effect in June 2020.
- It targeted the Assad regime and anyone doing business with it, especially in sectors like energy, construction, and finance.
- The Trump administration issued temporary waivers for these sanctions but only Congress can vote to cancel them.
- Graham said in order for him to support that step, he wants to see Syria officially join the coalition against ISIS and move toward a new security agreement with Israel,
On Friday, Shaibani is expected to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
State of play: The Syrian foreign minister is traveling from London, where he held talks with Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to discuss an Israeli proposal for a new security agreement between the countries.
- Shaibani and Dermer met for five hours under the auspices of U.S. envoy Tom Barrack to discuss Syria's response, sources with knowledge of the meeting said.
- One source with knowledge said the talks in London made progress towards a possible agreement.
Zoom in: A Syrian government source told Al-Jazeera that Shaibani stressed to Dermer that regional security can only be achieved by respecting Syria's sovereignty and independence.
- The source said the Syrian counter-proposal stipulates that Israel withdraw from the areas it occupied after the collapse of the Assad regime last December.
- The Syrian counter-proposal also envisions the redeployment of a UN observer force to the buffer zone between the countries.
What they're saying: Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa told reporters on Wednesday that the negotiations with Israel could lead to results in the coming days.
- He said the Trump administration isn't pressing Syria to agree to Israel's terms. He noted that a new security agreement is a "necessity" but stressed Israel will have to respect Syria's air space and territorial integrity.
- Al-Sharaa said a security deal could lead to more agreements between Israel and Syria, but stressed a normalization agreement isn't on the table at the moment.
Flashback: The last such visit came in December 1999. Then-Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa visited the White House for peace talks with Israel.
