The US formally removed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa from its terrorism blacklist ahead of his scheduled landmark visit to the White House on Monday.

 

The State Department cited al-Sharaa's cooperation with US demands, including working to find missing Americans and eliminate chemical weapons, for the removal.

The United States on Friday formally removed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa from a terrorism blacklist, days before he is set to make a landmark visit to Washington.

 

The move announced by the State Department was widely expected as Sharaa cooperates with the United States, and comes a day after Washington led a vote by the Security Council to remove UN sanctions on him.

 

"These actions are being taken in recognition of the progress demonstrated by the Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashar al-Assad and more than 50 years of repression under the Assad regime," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

 

He said that Sharaa's government was meeting US demands including working to find missing Americans and eliminating any remaining chemical weapons.

 

Sharaa, once linked to Al-Qaeda, had been considered a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" by the United States, which once put a bounty on his head.

 

Sharaa's forces swept to power nearly a year ago in a lightning offensive.

 

Sharaa will visit the White House on Monday as President Donald Trump promises to help the new Syria.

 

US ‘ally’ Israel initially opposed the overtures and has heavily bombed Syria since Assad's fall in hopes of weakening its historic adversary.