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The United States called for a vote on Thursday to remove Syria’s President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and his Interior Minister Anas Khattab from the sanctions list targeting ISIS and al-Qaida affiliates, according to Al Jazeera.
The expected vote requires at least nine votes in favor and no veto from any of the five permanent members: the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.
The measure, significantly revised after weeks of closed-door negotiations, comes as Washington presses Council members to finalize the decision before al-Sharaa’s visit.
Earlier, Washington had sought to delist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the militant umbrella group led by al-Sharaa that overthrew former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December, but China objected.
If adopted, the resolution would formally remove both men from the U.N. ISIS and al-Qaida sanctions list, which imposes asset freezes, travel bans and arms restrictions.
Washington introduced changes to the text, particularly concerning foreign fighters, while China proposed amendments calling for annual renewable exemptions, which were not included in the final draft.
“It is not clear yet whether China will veto or allow the resolution to pass, as U.S. changes do not address the fundamental issues Beijing has with easing and lifting U.N. sanctions on Syria,” said Maya Ungar, a U.N. analyst at the International Crisis Group.
She added that China remains concerned about “the presence of Uyghur militants in Syria who fought closely alongside the new government.”
President Al-Sharaa arrived in Washington on Monday for his first White House visit, following a previous trip to the United Nations in September, where he became the first Syrian leader in decades to address the General Assembly.
“This visit is certainly historic,” Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain last week.
“Many topics will be discussed, starting with the lifting of sanctions. Today we are fighting ISIS—and any effort in this regard requires international support.”
U.S. President Donald Trump previously announced the lifting of sanctions on Damascus during his speech at the Saudi-U.S.
Investment Forum in Riyadh in mid-May, a step welcomed by the Syrian government and several Arab states. Trump and al-Sharaa later met in Riyadh, marking the first meeting between U.S. and Syrian presidents in 25 years.
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