U.S. President Donald Trump to Meet with Syrian Leader Ahmet Shara at the White House

U.S. President Donald Trump and the interim leader of Syria, Ahmet Shara, are scheduled to meet at the White House today, November 10. The meeting will take place in the Oval Office and will be closed to the press.

Shara arrived in Washington late on Saturday and held his first meeting with the Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, and representatives from various Syrian organizations based in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is also in the United States for official discussions.

In a statement released on November 4, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt described the meeting as part of President Trump’s diplomatic efforts to meet with global leaders in pursuit of peace. She also reminded the public that Trump had decided to lift sanctions on Syria during his Middle East trip in June.

This marks the first visit by a Syrian leader to the U.S. since the country gained independence in 1946.

The meeting has been anticipated for some time. Tom Barrack, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and the U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, had previously shared hopes that the meeting would take place on November 10.

Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Hassan Shaybani confirmed that Shara’s visit to the White House would occur in early November and clarified that Syria’s reconstruction would be among the topics discussed.

Tom Barrack also expressed hope that Syria would join the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.