The United States has prepared a draft resolution of the UN Security Council, which provides for the removal of sanctions from Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, according to Reuters, which has familiarised itself with the document.
It is also proposed to lift sanctions from Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab. It is not yet clear when the resolution might be put to a vote. Its approval requires at least nine votes in favour and the absence of a veto from the permanent members of the Security Council – Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain.
Ahmed al-Sharaa is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on 10 November, his first visit to the United States. The UN Security Council sanctions committee earlier this year had already granted Ash-Sharaa travel authorisations, so even if the US draft resolution is not approved, Ash-Sharaa is likely to be able to visit the White House, Reuters noted.
Ahmed al-Sharaa took over as transitional president in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in early December 2024, when armed opposition groups entered Damascus.
On 15 October, al-Sharaa travelled to Moscow for the first time since coming to power, where he was received in the Kremlin by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. During the talks, al-Sharaa said that Russia “will have a serious role in the development of a new Syria.” One of the main issues in the two countries’ relations concerns the preservation of the Russian naval base in Tartus and the airbase in Khmeimim.