Washington, United States – Axios quoted Senator Lindsey Graham as saying that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani will meet with American lawmakers in Washington this week.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss lifting the remaining US sanctions on his country.
Al-Shaibani’s visit is the first by a Syrian foreign minister to Washington in more than 25 years. It comes in the wake of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s statements on Wednesday. He stated that Syria’s negotiations with Israel to reach a security agreement could lead to results in the coming days.
Graham told Axios that he and other senators are scheduled to meet with Al-Shaibani on Thursday. They will discuss specific sanctions imposed by Washington under laws, such as the Caesar Act, and lift them permanently.
Al-Shaibani is expected to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday.
Graham said he would support lifting those sanctions if Syria formally moved toward a new security agreement with Israel.
In addition to joining a coalition against the terrorist organization ISIS.
Syrian-Israeli talks
Syria and Israel are holding talks to reach an agreement. Under this agreement, Damascus hopes Israel will stop air strikes and withdraw its forces that have penetrated southern Syria.
Reuters reported this week that Washington is pressuring Syria to reach an agreement. They want this before world leaders meet next week to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Al-Sharaa denied that the United States was exerting pressure on Syria. He said that the United States was playing the role of mediator.
He said that Israel has launched more than a thousand raids on Syria. They carried out more than 400 ground incursions since December 8 (December), when the opposition offensive he led overthrew former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
President Donald Trump announced the lifting of some major US sanctions imposed on Syria earlier this year.