US President Trump held a low-key meeting with Syrian President Shala at the White House on the 10th.
Shala is the first Syrian president to be invited into the White House's Oval Office. However, his visit saw no national flags and no cameras.
Shala arrived at the White House at 11:37 a.m. local time, but did not enter through the main entrance, nor did he receive the courtesies usually prepared for heads of state and government, such as the US president personally greeting him at the portico. Unlike standard official visits, reporters were also not invited into the Oval Office at the start of the meeting.
A year ago, Shala, who had served time in US and Iraqi prisons, was on the UN and US blacklists. He was accused of having close ties with al-Qaeda, and the group he leads, the "Sham Liberation Organization," was only removed from the US terrorist organization list in July last year.
According to a statement issued by the Syrian Foreign Ministry on the 10th, President Shala visited the White House that day and held talks with US President Trump. The US side supports Syria's unified national structure and will promote the lifting of sanctions against Syria.
The statement pointed out that the meeting lasted more than an hour, with Foreign Minister Hibani, US Vice President Vance, and Secretary of State Rubio attending.
The statement said that Trump expressed that the US is ready at any time to provide Syria with needed support to ensure success in the next stage of Syria's reconstruction and development process. Both sides agreed to continue implementing the agreement reached in March this year between the Syrian government and the "Syrian Democratic Forces" led by Syrian Kurdish forces, including integrating the "Syrian Democratic Forces" into the national military. The US side reaffirmed its support for Syria and Israel to reach a security agreement "aimed at promoting regional stability." The Syrian Embassy in Washington will reopen.