ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa departed for the United States on Sunday to take part in the United Nations General Assembly, state media reported.

Sharaa was “heading to the United States to participate in the affairs of the United Nations General Assembly’s 80th session,” the state-run SANA news agency said, citing a presidency statement. 

A former jihadist and leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which seized power from former dictator Bashar al-Assad in January, Sharaa will be the first Syrian leader to speak at the assembly in New York since 1967. 

His HTS, now dissolved, is rooted in al-Qaeda’s Syria branch – the al-Nusra front – and its jihadist past has been a major source of concern for the international community and a sticking point in their efforts to normalize ties and assist Syria’s recovery. 

Sharaa’s jihadist past has kept him under UN sanctions and a travel ban, with all trips abroad requiring special exemptions. 

In July, Washington revoked the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation for HTS but kept its description as “an alias of Al-Nusrah Front,” which is still designated as an FTO.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani is also in Washington and has met with several US officials. 

In May, US President Donald Trump met with Sharaa in Riyadh, in the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan via video conference.

The meeting came one day after Trump made a landmark decision to remove all sanctions on Syria “in order to give them a chance at greatness.”