Ahmad al-Sharaa led the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which seized power in Damascus in 2024

US President Donald Trump has praised Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as a strong leader after hosting him in the White House on Monday.

Sharaa, a former jihadist commander with ties to Al-Qaeda who was once blacklisted by the US government, toppled Syria's longtime leader Bashar Assad in December 2024. He has since pledged to rebuild the war-torn country and protect its ethnic and religious minorities.

"He is a very strong leader. He comes from a very tough place, and he's a tough guy. I liked him. I get along with him," Trump told journalists in the Oval Office. "We want to see Syria become a country that's very successful, and we think this leader can do it," he added.

Despite al-Sharaa's pledges to build an inclusive society, his rule has been marred by waves of sectarian violence against Druze and Christian communities, drawing condemnation from the US.

Just days before the visit, the US, along with the UK and the UN, removed al-Sharaa from their respective terrorist lists. On Monday, Washington extended the suspension of sanctions for another 180 days, as Syria seeks to normalize bilateral ties and expand security cooperation.

American media outlets reported that Syria would officially join the US-led coalition to fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). The Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that US, Syrian, and Turkish diplomats had agreed on a plan to integrate the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the Syrian army. The SDF has controlled large parts of the north and east of the country since the mid-2010s.

Al-Sharaa met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, after which Bloomberg reported that Moscow had resumed flights to the Khmeimim Air Base in western Syria, which had been suspended in 2024.

(RT.com)