Syrian president arrives in US for landmark visit

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country's state news agency said, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist, Report informs via AFP.

Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

It's the first such visit by a Syrian president since the country's independence in 1946, according to analysts. The interim leader met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president's regional tour in May.

US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said earlier this month that Sharaa would "hopefully" sign an agreement to join the international US-led alliance against the Islamic State (IS). The US plans to establish a military base near Damascus "to coordinate humanitarian aid and observe developments between Syria and Israel," a diplomatic source in Syria told AFP.