(MENAFN) The United Nations Security Council has endorsed a US-proposed resolution to remove sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in anticipation of his upcoming visit to Washington next week.

The resolution, introduced by the United States on Thursday, also eliminated sanctions targeting Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab.

The Security Council stated that it had decided both officials should be “delisted from the ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.” Out of the 15 council members, 14 voted in favor, with only China choosing to abstain.

Al-Sharaa, previously the leader of the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) under the alias Abu Mohammad al-Julani, assumed control of Syria after overthrowing former President Bashar Assad.

The United States has been pressing the 15-member council to relax sanctions against Syria since al-Sharaa’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia in May, marking the first engagement between the two countries’ leaders in a quarter-century.

Following that meeting, Trump announced a significant shift in US policy by declaring his intention to lift sanctions on Syria.

Last week, US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, confirmed that al-Sharaa is scheduled to visit Washington, DC, next week.

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