The visit of interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to the White House last week, the first such meeting by any Syrian leader, signals a dramatic shift in the country’s foreign policy after the fall of Bashar al-Assad but comes without a clear democratic roadmap, according to Syrian analyst Radwan Ziadeh.
Ziadeh, a political scientist, author and senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, D.C., made the remarks on the latest episode of the “Timeline” program on YouTube, posted Thursday.
He spoke with hosts, journalist Abdülhamit Bilici and author Jesse Waters, about the implications of the Oval Office meeting between al-Sharaa and US President Donald Trump on November 11.
Ziadeh described the encounter as “historic in too many ways,” noting that al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda-affiliated rebel fighter, had previously been on a US terrorist watch list with a $10 million bounty on his head. “This was the first visit for any sitting Syrian president to Washington and to the White House. … No one could imagine this a year ago,” he said.
The White House meeting was the third between Trump and al-Sharaa in less than nine months, following earlier encounters in Riyadh and at the United Nations General Assembly, Ziadeh noted.
Shift away from Iran and Russia
Ziadeh said the visit symbolized Syria’s abrupt realignment following the removal of longtime Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, claiming the interim authorities are distancing themselves from Iran and Russia and attempting to rebuild relations with Western governments.
“It shows the radical change of the Syrian foreign policy after the fall of the Assad regime. … It’s shifting toward the West, Europe and the United States, giving Syrians promises that a new future is coming,” he said.
Since becoming interim Syrian president, al-Sharaa has worked to soften his public image as he tries to rebuild Syria, with foreign support, following 13 years of war.
Ziadeh argued that Trump’s approach created an opportunity that previous US administrations would not have offered.
Diplomatic relations between Syria and the US have been suspended since 2012, although the US will now allow Syria to re-open its embassy in Washington.
“If we had Biden or maybe a Democratic president, we would not have seen the lifting of the sanctions,” Ziadeh said, adding that the Biden administration had been “reluctant” to deal with the new authorities and had insisted on conditions.
Trump has on many occasions expressed support for al-Sharaa, referring to him as a “young, attractive guy” and a “fighter.”
Ziadeh said the clearest outcomes of the meeting were the US decision to recognize al-Sharaa as Syria’s new leader and the announcement that sanctions against Syria would be lifted.
In June President Trump signed an executive order lifting sanctions against Syria, which the White House said would help support the country’s “path to stability and peace.”
He said decades of sanctions had crippled Syria’s economy, leaving it unable to trade, access currency or import basic goods, adding that the Assad regime left “only $200,000” in the central bank and that 90 percent of Syrians are now below the poverty line. Reconstruction costs are estimated at $297 billion, according to Ziadeh, who cited World Bank assessments.
“Lifting the sanctions will give a green light to foreign investment … and give hope to Syrians that change in the political system will lead to improvements in their daily lives,” he said.
Concerns over authoritarian drift
Despite the diplomatic breakthrough, Ziadeh warned that al-Sharaa has shown no commitment to a democratic transition.
“He has no views on a democratic transition in Syria. It’s been a year, and he never used the word ‘democracy’ at all. He still believes that this word is a part of Western ideology and is not suitable for the Syrian people,” he said.
Ziadeh criticized the new constitutional declaration, saying it shifts Syria from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, concentrating authority in the hands of the executive. He argued that parliament and the judiciary lack meaningful independence and that most judges were trained under Assad, creating conditions prone to authoritarian tendencies. Widespread poverty and the absence of a functioning middle class further complicate prospects for reform, he added.
Minority concerns and national cohesion
Bilici noted that while a recent Arab Center poll found roughly 70 percent of Syrians optimistic about the country’s direction, optimism was far lower among minority groups, including Kurds, Druze, Alawites and Christians.
Al-Sharaa’s rule has been marred by killings of members of Syria’s Alawite minority, as well as by deadly violence between Sunni Bedouin fighters and Druze militias.
Asked how the transition was addressing these concerns, Ziadeh said Syria must balance democratic aspirations with protections for minorities. “The only way to be able to build a sustainable and stable political system,” he said, is by ensuring representation for all communities in a country defined by religious and sectarian diversity.
Regional and US support
Ziadeh said the stability of the first year after Assad’s fall was backed by a “regional alliance” of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Those governments, he said, helped the interim authorities establish basic state capacity — from operating airports to managing security — while advocating for them internationally.
He added that US special envoy Tom Barack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkey, played a key role in pushing for sanctions relief. According to Ziadeh, both regional actors and the United States recognize the importance of maintaining stability in Syria as the country navigates its political transition.