Syria's presidency has rejected media reports claiming that President Ahmed Al-Sharaa had cooperated with the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State group [IS] and Al-Qaeda since 2016.
In comments carried by state TV channel Al-Ikhbariyah on Friday, the Presidency's Media Directorate said the allegations "have no basis in fact".
It stressed that the president "did not coordinate or cooperate with any foreign party in this regard" and had issued "no directives" related to such cooperation. According to the statement, all decisions and measures taken at the time were "independent internal decisions" without any external input.
The denial followed a report by the New York Times published earlier this week, which claimed that Al-Sharaa had quietly worked with the coalition in areas under his control in north-west Syria since 2016.
The US embassy in Damascus announced on Tuesday that Syria had formally joined the international coalition, becoming its 90th member.
It described the move as a "pivotal moment" for the country and for the global fight against terrorism.
In a post on X, the embassy said the step would enable closer security cooperation, joint training, and efforts to limit the threat of IS. It added that enhanced cooperation could help restore stability and open the door to reconstruction opportunities after fourteen years of conflict.
The embassy also said that lifting the Caesar Act sanctions in full would be the next step towards improving Syria's economic and political stability, arguing that it would allow serious reconstruction efforts and reduce the likelihood of young Syrians being driven towards extremism.
Earlier in the week, Syrian Information Minister Hamza Al-Mustafa said Damascus had signed a political cooperation declaration with the coalition to defeat IS, emphasising that the agreement was political in nature and did not yet include any military components.
The coalition was formed in 2014 under US leadership and has conducted extensive operations against the group in both Syria and Iraq.