U.S. Draft Resolution at UN Seeks to Remove Syrian President al-Shar’a from Sanctions List

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations circulated on Tuesday a draft resolution to members of the UN Security Council proposing the removal of Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Shar’a and Interior Minister Anas Hassan Khattab from the sanctions list imposed over terrorism-related issues, ahead of al-Shar’a’s expected visit to the White House next week.

Al-Shar’a is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington next Monday, in what will be his first official visit since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The two leaders had previously met in Riyadh in May, following Trump’s announcement lifting all U.S. sanctions on Syria.

According to diplomats familiar with the text, the draft was submitted under the “silence procedure” until Wednesday morning — a procedural mechanism that allows member states to object before the draft is formally put to a vote.

The resolution, details of which were reported by Al-Monitor, stipulates that the Council “decides to delist Ahmad al-Shar’a and Interior Minister Anas Hassan Khattab”, and welcomes the Syrian government’s commitment to combating terrorism, including that of foreign fighters.

Diplomatic sources said Washington aims to hold the vote this week to ensure the sanctions are lifted before al-Shar’a’s arrival in Washington. However, the move has met reservations from China, a permanent member of the Council, which expressed concern about the role of the Syrian National Army in recruiting Uyghur fighters affiliated with the Turkistan Islamic Party.

The Turkistan Islamic Party is a transnational jihadist organization seeking to establish an Islamic state in China’s Xinjiang region and across Central Asia.

The American initiative follows Washington’s July decision to delist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from its terrorist organizations list, a step later mirrored by the United Kingdom last month.