The United States has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for the lifting of sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab, ahead of a planned meeting between Sharaa and President Donald Trump at the White House.
The move comes as part of Washington’s push to ease restrictions on Syria, which has been undergoing major political shifts following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime late last year.
To pass, the resolution requires nine affirmative votes and no vetoes from the five permanent members of the Council.
Both Sharaa and Khattab remain under UN sanctions linked to al-Qaeda, due to their former leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), once the official al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
The UN Sanctions Committee had already granted travel exemptions to Sharaa earlier this year, raising the likelihood that he could visit the White House even without formal approval of the new resolution.
