Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to address the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 24, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday at a press briefing.

Since seizing power from Bashar al-Assad last December, Sharaa has made a series of foreign trips as his transitional government seeks to re-establish Syria's ties with world powers that had shunned Damascus during Assad's rule.

Trump has sought good relations with al-Sharaa. In June he revoked most U.S. sanctions against Syria, and Trump met with the Syrian leader when he visited Saudi Arabia last May.

"When the president was in the Middle East, he made the historic decision to lift sanctions on Syria to give them a real chance at peace and I think the administration, we've seen good progress on that front under their new leadership," she said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Maiya Keidan; Editing by Daniel Wallis)