Syrian foreign minister arrives in US for 1st visit in 25 years

ISTANBUL

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani arrived in Washington on Thursday for the first official visit to the US in 25 years, local media said.

The state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV, citing foreign ministry sources, said Shaibani and his accompanying delegation arrived in Washington for “a historic official visit.”

According to the US news outlet Axios, the Syrian minister is set to hold talks with US senators to discuss the permanent lifting of Caesar sanctions on Syria.

There was no immediate US comment on Shaibani’s visit.

The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, signed by then-US President Donald Trump in 2019 and implemented in June 2020, is a legislation that expanded the sanctions on the Bashar al-Assad regime to isolate it from the international community for its war crimes against civilians.

Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in late 2024, ending the Baath Party’s decades-long grip on power that began in 1963. A new transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in Syria in January following Assad’s fall.