US asks UN to lift sanctions on Syrian President ahead of White House visit
Reuters news agency reported on November 4 that the US has proposed a draft resolution of the United Nations Security Council to lift sanctions against Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. This move comes ahead of Mr. Sharaa's scheduled visit to the White House to meet US President Donald Trump on November 10.
A draft resolution seen by Reuters on November 4 also proposes lifting sanctions on Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab.
It is not yet clear when the text might be put to a vote at the Security Council. To be passed, the resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the five permanent members (Russia, China, the US, France, and the UK).
Washington has been urging the 15-member Security Council to ease sanctions on Syria for months, Reuters reported.
The proposal is set in the wake of a regime change in Syria. In December 2024, after 13 years of civil war, President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in a lightning offensive by rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
HTS, formerly the Nusra Front, was al Qaeda’s official Syrian affiliate before cutting ties in 2016. However, the group has remained on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list for links to al Qaeda and IS since May 2014. Sharaa (HTS leader) and Khattab are also subject to individual UN sanctions, including travel bans, asset freezes and arms embargoes.
The move by Washington comes after President Trump announced a major policy shift in May, announcing the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. A UN report in July also found that sanctions monitors "found no active links" this year between HTS and al Qaeda.
Reuters notes that a Security Council sanctions committee has granted Sharaa travel waivers several times this year, so even if the US draft resolution is not passed by November 10, the Syrian president’s visit to the White House is still likely to take place.