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After Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House on Monday, where he met with U.S. President Donald Trump, many questions were raised about why he entered through the side entrance rather than the main gate.
Syrian Ambassador Bassam Barabandi told Al Arabiya on Monday evening that Sharaa’s visit to the United States was not a state visit but rather a private one.
He added that, according to White House protocol, any private visit does not involve an official reception or the raising of national flags—and therefore does not include entry through the main gate.
Barabandi further explained that al-Sharaa’s visit was categorized as a private visit, which required the Syrian president to enter through a side entrance to the White House.
Al-Sharaa arrived at the White House on Monday without fanfare, unlike typical visits by foreign leaders. He entered through a side door out of sight of journalists, rather than through the main entrance of the West Wing, where cameras were waiting.
Trump described the visit as a “warm, candid, and forward-looking” meeting that lasted over an hour.
It marked the first visit by a Syrian head of state to the White House since the country gained independence nearly 80 years ago.
Shortly after the meeting, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “It was an honor to spend time with Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, the new president of Syria … I look forward to meeting and speaking again.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. The Department of the Treasury pledged to continue easing sanctions, announcing a new decision replacing the waiver issued on May 23 under the Caesar Act of 2019, which had imposed broad sanctions over human rights violations committed under former President Bashar al-Assad.
The new decision appeared to extend the waiver for another 180 days.
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