According to lawmakers and U.S. officials, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani will visit Washington on Thursday to discuss permanently lifting the remaining sanctions on Syria on Capitol Hill.
Why is the visit important?
It is the first time that a Syrian Foreign Minister has visited Washington in over 25 years. The visit also occurs during a U.S. mediation attempt to establish a new security agreement between Israel and Syria.
About the visit
On Thursday, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) briefed Axios that he plans to meet with Shaibani with a group of other Senators to negotiate the permanent removal of the “Caesar sanctions.”
A U.S. legislation named the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, after a Syrian military defector who smuggled evidence of torture victims, became effective in June 2020. It has focused on the Assad regime and anyone conducting business with the regime, particularly in areas such as energy, construction, and financing.
These sanctions were temporarily waived by the Trump administration, but can only be voted on by Congress before being canceled. Graham added that, to get him to back that move, he wants Syria formally integrated into the coalition against ISIS and that he wants Syria to progress toward a new security arrangement with Israel.
Shaibani is likely to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday.
Current situation
The Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani is on a trip out of London, where he has been meeting the Strategic Affairs Minister of Israel, Ron Dermer, about a new security arrangement between Syria and Israel.
According to the sources, the meeting, which took place under the supervision of U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, lasted five hours, during which Shaibani and Dermer discussed Syria’s response. One of the sources of information expressed that the discussions in London were progressing towards a potential deal.
Overview
The Syrian government reported to Al-Jazeera that Shaibani emphasized to Dermer that regional security would only be attained by observing the sovereignty and independence of Syria.
According to the source, the Syrian counter-proposal requires Israel to leave the areas that it occupied following the fall of the Assad regime last December. Another counter-proposal given by the Syrians also proposes the use of a UN observer force in the buffer zone between the two nations.
On Wednesday, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa informed reporters that the talks with Israel might deliver results within the next few days.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa stated that the Trump administration is coercing Syria to accept the conditions of Israel. He has pointed out that a new security accord is a must, but emphasized that Israel will need to observe the airspace and territorial integrity of Syria.
Al-Sharaa mentioned that a security arrangement might be the basis of additional arrangements between Israel and Syria, yet emphasized that a normalization arrangement is not under consideration right now.
The most recent visit was made in December 1999, when Farouq al-Sharaa, the then-Syrian Foreign Minister, made a visit to the White House to hold peace negotiations with Israel.
