Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country's state news agency reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist.

Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

It's the first such visit by a Syrian president since the country's independence in 1946, according to analysts.

The interim leader met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president's regional tour in May.

Washington's envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, said earlier this month that Sharaa would "hopefully" sign an agreement to join the international US-led alliance against the Islamic State (IS) group.

The United States plans to establish a military base near Damascus "to coordinate humanitarian aid and observe developments........

© Al Monitor