(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Washington ~ In a stunning diplomatic reversal, President Trump laid out a red carpet for ex-al-Qaida rebel-turned-Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa, sealing Syria's reentry into the Western fold for the first time since 1946. The visit caps a dramatic turnaround for Damascus less than a year after the fall of Bashar Assad and the lifting of decades-old U.S. sanctions.

It's the first visit to the White House by a Syrian head of state since the Middle Eastern country gained independence from France in 1946 and comes after the US lifted sanctions imposed on Syria during the decades the country remained in the resistance camp led by Iran. Al-Sharaa led the rebel forces that toppled former President Bashar Assad last December and was named the country's interim leader in January.

Trump and al-Sharaa-who once had ties to al-Qaida and had a USD 10 million US bounty on his head-first met in May in Saudi Arabia. At the time, the US president described al-Sharaa as a“young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. Fighter.” It was the first official encounter between the US and Syria since 2000, when former President Bill Clinton met with Hafez Assad, the father of Bashar Assad.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday's visit is“part of the president's efforts in diplomacy to meet with anyone around the world in the pursuit of peace.”

Trump has recently said al-Sharaa is“doing a very good job so far” and that a“lot of progress has been made with Syria” since the US eased sanctions.

One official with knowledge of the administration's plans said Syria's entry into the global coalition fighting the Islamic State group will allow it to work more closely with US forces, although the new Syrian military and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the country's northeast had already been fighting the group.

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