 "Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani attends a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, on July 31, 2025. Reuters File")
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani arrived in Washington on Thursday, marking the first official visit at this level in more than a quarter-century.
The trip signals a major shift in US policy toward Damascus, as Washington pushes to lift remaining sanctions and mediate between Syria’s new Islamist leadership and Israel.
According to an Axios report, Senator Lindsey Graham said that al-Shibani is expected to meet US lawmakers to discuss easing the sanctions still in place against Syria.
Two sources familiar with the visit confirmed the details to Reuters.
The visit comes after several senior US diplomats working on Syria were abruptly dismissed, signaling a broader shift in Washington’s strategy as it moves to integrate its longtime Syrian Kurdish allies into President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s central government.
The United States has also been mediating between Syria and Israel. President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is scheduled to attend the UN General Assembly in New York next week, said that negotiations toward a security agreement with Israel could produce results “in the coming days.”
Washington had imposed crippling sanctions on Syria beginning in 2011, after former President Bashar al-Assad—an ally of Iran and Russia—violently suppressed nationwide protests, sparking a nearly 14-year civil war.
Following Assad’s ouster by Sharaa’s forces in a swift campaign last December, US–Syria relations have begun to thaw. After meeting with Sharaa in May, US President Donald Trump announced plans to begin lifting the remaining sanctions.
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More ShortsWith inputs from agencies