<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The US is asking the United Nations Security Council to lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and members of his government ahead of a historic visit to the White House.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a draft resolution obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday, the US is proposing that the 15-member council drop a series of sanctions tied to al-Sharaa and Syria's interior minister, Anas Hasan Khattab.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The resolution could be put up for a vote as early as this week, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet made public.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/zohran-mamdani-wins-nyc-mayors-race-capping-a-stunning-ascent/1701efb5-c55a-4a71-85ef-2bd58c22a985" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>'So it begins': Mamdani and Trump face off after historic win</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>To be approved it would require the backing of nine members and no vetoes from the permanent five – China, Russia, Britain, France and the United States.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US officials appear to be pushing for it to happen before President Donald Trump hosts al-Sharaa in Washington on Monday. It will be the first visit by a Syrian president to Washington since the country gained independence in 1946.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While al-Sharaa is in Washington, Syria is expected to join the US-led anti–Islamic State coalition, which includes some 80 countries working to prevent a resurgence of the extremist group.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/us-wants-un-sanctions-on-syria-leader-lifted-before-trump-visit/08794162-25b1-49e8-9e98-e7d2c4a5abbd" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/dick-cheney-death-influential-republican-vice-president-to-george-w-bush-dies-at-84/a728d1c7-e557-4b2f-8913-25c1b12fa8db" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Dick Cheney, polarising US VP behind 'war on terror', dies at 84</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The effort is part of Trump's strategy to rebuild relations with Syria after the 50-year rule of the Assad family came to an end in December when then-President Bashar Assad was ousted in a lightning offensive led by al-Sharaa. Assad's fall also brought to an end nearly 14 years of civil war.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Since then, al-Sharaa has sought to restore ties with Arab countries and the West, where officials were initially wary of his past ties with the al-Qaida militant group. The rebel group he formerly led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was previously designated by the US as a terrorist group.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They remain </span><a href="https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/what-australia-is-doing/terrorist-organisations/listed-terrorist-organisations" rel="" target="_blank" title="a listed terrorist group in Australia"><span>a listed terrorist group in Australia</span></a><span> as of 2022.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/comet-3i-atlas-everything-to-know-how-when-to-see-from-australia-explained/867fea3b-ccd9-4197-a31b-1ca0ffdb9352" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>This incredibly rare comet is passing Earth. Only some Aussies will see it</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump met al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May and announced that he would lift decades of sanctions against the war-torn country. He followed through by ordering a large swath of sanctions lifted or waived.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, the most stringent sanctions were imposed by Congress in 2019 and will require a congressional vote to remove them permanently.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Syria's conflict broke out in early 2011 and left nearly half a million people dead and millions displaced, including many who are now refugees. The war caused wide destruction, and Syria will need tens of billions of dollars to rebuild.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In May, Ramesh Rajasingham, the UN humanitarian division's chief coordinator, told the Security Council that 90 per cent of Syrians live in poverty, with 16.5 million needing protection and humanitarian assistance, including nearly three million facing acute food insecurity.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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