In historic first, Syrian President Sharaa to visit Washington, says US envoy

UPDATED: Nov 2, 2025 06:18 IST

Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa is expected to visit Washington around November 10, marking what would be the first-ever visit by a Syrian head of state to the US capital, US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said on Saturday.

Barrack made the announcement on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, an annual global security and geopolitical conference. A White House official confirmed the visit’s tentative schedule, while a Syrian source familiar with the matter said it was expected to take place within the next two weeks.

According to the US State Department’s historical records, no Syrian president has previously made an official visit to Washington. Sharaa, however, addressed the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Since taking power from Bashar al-Assad last December, Sharaa has embarked on a series of foreign trips aimed at restoring Syria’s relations with major powers that had long isolated Damascus during Assad’s rule.

Barrack said Washington hopes Syria will join the US -led coalition formed in 2014 to combat the Islamic State (IS) group. “We are trying to get everybody to be a partner in this alliance, which is huge for them,” Barrack said.

Sharaa previously led a Syrian offshoot of Al Qaeda, but his group broke away from the global network more than a decade ago and later clashed with the Islamic State. The US -led coalition and local partners eliminated IS’s last stronghold in Syria in 2019, though the group has attempted to exploit post-Assad instability to regain influence in Syria and Iraq.

Syria-Israel De-escalation Talks

Barrack also revealed that Syria and Israel are continuing US -mediated de-escalation talks, adding that both sides are close to reaching an agreement. He declined to specify when a deal could be finalised.

Syria reportedly hopes the agreement will end Israeli airstrikes and secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Syria. The US is pushing for a security agreement between Syria and Israel to be in place before Sharaa’s visit to Washington.

Despite the fall of Assad and ongoing diplomatic engagement, deep mistrust and territorial disputes between Israel and Syria persist after decades of hostility.

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