US President Donald Trump hosted Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday, November 10, marking the first-ever visit by a Syrian head of state to Washington, DC. What came out of the White House visit, the third high-level meeting between the two leaders in just six months’ time?
The briefing featured Amb. (ret.) Ryan Crocker, MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow and former career diplomat with the US Foreign Service. His previous appointments included US Ambassador to Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. Wa’el AlZayat, CEO of Emgage Foundation and Associate Fellow at MEI, will also join the discussion from Damascus, Syria. Alzayat previously served at the US Department of State for ten years, including as senior policy advisor and Syria outreach coordinator.
Our experts offered their takeaways on the meeting and its implications for Syria’s emergence from decades of isolation, the potential lifting of sanctions, Damascus’s formal participation in the international coalition against ISIS, and the future of Syria’s minority communities.