A man once detained by the US for joining al-Qaeda militants fighting American forces in Iraq is set to become the first Syrian president to visit Washington since the country’s independence in 1946.
Since rebel forces led by him ousted former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last December, Ahmad al-Sharaa – who cut ties with al-Qaeda years earlier – has gone on a largely successful charm offensive to establish new ties with world powers that had shunned the country during Assad’s rule.
Al-Sharaa met Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia in May, where the US president announced he would lift decades of sanctions.
The two men will meet again today at the White House, where Syria is widely expected to officially join the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group.
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