From former rebel to reformist leader, Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa will travel to Washington next week to sign Syria’s entry into the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack confirmed on Saturday during the Manama Dialogue Conference in Bahrain.
The signing ceremony, scheduled for November 10 at the White House, will be the first time in history that a Syrian leader has been officially received by a U.S. president.
The deal, which Barrack described as a “historic milestone,” will formalize Syria’s participation in addition to 88 other countries in the coalition originally established in 2014 to combat the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
“This is huge for them,” Barrack told reporters, noting that Syria had quietly cooperated with the U.S. for years by sharing intelligence on ISIS and al-Qaeda leaders. The envoy added that the agreement reflects both sides’ interest in preventing an ISIS resurgence, as the extremist group continues to regroup across Syria’s desert regions.
Once a radical insurgent commander who fought against U.S. forces in Iraq, the new president has since reinvented himself as a reformist leader seeking international legitimacy after ousting Bashar al-Assad last December.
Under his leadership, Damascus has moved closer to Türkiye, restored diplomatic relations with several Arab states, and initiated coordination with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish-led militia backed by Washington.
