Syria's Sharaa to meet SDF leader during US envoy Barrack visit

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa will meet Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Damascus on Tuesday in the presence of US Special Envoy Tom Barrack, sources have told The New Arab's sister outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Abdi arrived in Damascus on Monday morning and will later met with Barrack and his delegation.

Sharaa received a US delegation in Damascus on Monday. Among those attending was Congressman Joe Wilson who later said on X that the discussions focused on "Syria’s bright, united, and stable future".

The visit was accompanied by a revocation of some US sanctions on Syria by the US Treasurey. Wilson called for the US Congress to fully repeal the Caesar Act, which was imposed in 2019 when Assad was in power.

"This visit was of special meaning to me, and I am grateful for the warm welcome. The time has come for a full repeal of the Caesar Act, and as a priority of President (Donald) Trump’s administration, I affirm my firm commitment to achieving this vital goal, which enjoys bipartisan consensus."

Also present at the meeting was US Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

The US delegation met with both al-Sharaa and Abdi as well as Social Affairs Minister Hind Kabawat.  It also visited a Christian monastery and met with representatives of various religious groups.

Shaheen stressed "the importance of supporting the rights of Syrians from all ethnic and religious backgrounds".

The Syrian Foreign Ministry welcomed the US Treasury's decision to remove the Syrian sanctions regulations from the Federal Code.

It said the decision "contributes to facilitating trade and financial movement, lifting restrictions on US exports to Syria, and opening new horizons for economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries".

According to the ministry, the US delegation assured Sharaa of its support for lifting sanctions and "stressed the repeal of the Caesar Act by the end of 2025".

The US Treasury Department said Monday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had removed the Syrian Sanctions Regulations from the Federal Code, ending the national emergency imposed on Syria since 2004.

The department said the move, which takes effect on Tuesday, 26 August, is based on Executive Order 14312, issued on 30 June, which lifted sanctions on Syria.

It added that the order does not apply to the Islamic State group or other terrorist groups, individuals and entities involved in human rights abuses, those linked to chemical weapons and proliferation activities, or any actors that threaten peace and security in Syria and the region.