President Ahmad al-Sharaa is playing \u201cbasketball diplomacy\u201d with his Washington and Moscow visits<\/p>\n
Following his recent visit to Moscow, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa paid a working visit to the United States. The purpose of the trip was to strengthen Damascus-Washington cooperation and to explore new channels of trust amid a changing regional security architecture.
\nThe new Syrian leadership\u2019s foreign policy approach can be described as \u201cbasketball diplomacy.\u201d It\u2019s an apt metaphor reflecting a genuine political style \u2013 a blend of informality, agility, and personal rapport \u2013 rooted in the president\u2019s and Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani\u2019s passion for basketball, frequently showcased in viral videos of their casual games.
\nThe symbolic weight of this approach grew after the release of footage from a discreet visit by senior US officials to Damascus. The video showed al-Sharaa and al-Shaibani playing basketball alongside US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Admiral Charles B. Cooper II and Brigadier General Kevin J. Lambert, head of the Combined Joint Task Force \u2013 Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF\u2013OIR). These images became a visual embodiment of a new model of engagement \u2013 one in which informal interaction complements, and at times even precedes, formal diplomatic agreements.
\nThe \u201cbasketball diplomacy\u201d of Syria\u2019s new leadership is more than a stylistic flourish; it is an attempt to craft an image of a regime capable of turning a hard biography and a traumatic past into political capital. Ahmad al-Sharaa\u2019s personal story \u2013 from his time in US detention in Iraq and his years in the jihadist underground to his emergence as a statesman capable of negotiating on equal terms with both Washington and Moscow \u2013 has become central to this narrative. Unlike Bashar Assad, who over time was cornered into dependence on a narrow circle of allies, the new Syrian authorities seek to project a different image: that of a state reclaiming agency, able to reshape the architecture of regional security and the configuration of coalitions.<\/p>\n
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Within this framework, the basketball court is both a visual and political code. A shared game with American officers \u2013 along with the leaders\u2019 visible ease and openness \u2013 serves as a message of readiness for a new kind of dialogue. Not the ritualized rhetoric of \u201cresistance\u201d or the \u201caxis of resistance,\u201d but a display of confidence, manageability, and predictability.
\nThe decision to send a high-level delegation to Moscow immediately after al-Sharaa\u2019s Washington visit was also a deliberate signal that Damascus is trying to build a system of balance. The revival of trade, economic, and defense ties with Russia is meant to underscore that the new Syria is not severing its old connections, but rather seeking to make them more rational and pragmatic, to cleanse them of the toxicity inherited from civil war and internal repression.
\nThe parallel rapprochement with Washington serves a different, yet complementary purpose: to legitimize the new Syrian government within the Western political sphere and integrate it into coalition and sanctions frameworks. Equally important, Washington itself \u2013 by extending or lifting sanctions exemptions \u2013 becomes part of a process in which Syria\u2019s stability is no longer viewed as an incidental outcome, but as an intentional political objective.
\nAl-Sharaa\u2019s Washington visit has become one of the most remarkable developments in the Middle East in recent years. It marked the first official visit of a Syrian head of state to the White House in modern history \u2013 and although it unfolded without the usual ceremonial pomp, its political significance was enormous.
\nThe context of the visit was complex. After years of civil war, foreign interventions, and sanctions, Syria had been left in a state of fragmented sovereignty. For Washington, meanwhile, al-Sharaa\u2019s arrival offered an opportunity to restore its strategic foothold in a region from which the US had largely withdrawn after 2019. During his second term, President Donald Trump has prioritized targeted deals and personalized diplomacy over large-scale military campaigns \u2013 direct arrangements with regional leaders capable of delivering concrete benefits to the US. The Syrian track has thus become a testing ground for this new model.
\nThe format of the visit itself carried symbolic weight. The Syrian president entered the White House through a side entrance rather than the traditional front door \u2013 a deliberate gesture, signaling that the US is not yet ready for full \u201cnormalization\u201d with Damascus, preferring to retain control over the process. Nevertheless, the Oval Office meeting with Trump, attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, represented a political breakthrough. Fidan\u2019s presence clearly indicated that Washington, Ankara, and the new Damascus are attempting to jointly reshape the Syrian agenda \u2013 above all, to resolve the Kurdish issue in a way that does not compromise T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s interests.
\nFor Ankara, the key objective remains the dismantling of the military and political infrastructure of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which it views as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK). For the United States, the priority is to preserve its influence in eastern Syria \u2013 no longer through Kurdish autonomy, but through agreements with the new central government.<\/p>\n
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Al-Sharaa left Washington with a tangible result: the signing of the D-ISIS (Defeat ISIS) agreement, described by the White House as the main practical outcome of the talks. The accord formally commits Syria to join the international coalition against the remnants of the Islamic State. Yet its significance extends far beyond counterterrorism \u2013 the agreement effectively acknowledges the new Syrian leader as Washington\u2019s partner in the security sphere. For al-Sharaa, a former commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham once designated a terrorist, it marks a decisive step toward international legitimacy. Syrian sources described the agreement as a \u201ctax\u201d that al-Sharaa paid in exchange for the easing or lifting of US sanctions.
\nThe sanctions issue indeed became the centerpiece of the agenda. The Caesar Act, enacted in 2019, had long been the principal obstacle to Syria\u2019s economic recovery, blocking foreign investment and international financial operations. Since the regime change, Washington has gradually softened the sanctions, allowing limited transactions and humanitarian exemptions. Now, discussions have moved toward the possibility of a legislative repeal \u2013 a move that would require congressional approval.
\nNot coincidentally, immediately after the White House meeting, al-Sharaa held a late-night session with Congressman Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, whose vote may prove decisive. In Washington, the gradual \u201cunfreezing\u201d of sanctions is viewed as a strategic lever: their removal will serve as a reward for Syria\u2019s compliance with US security arrangements and for maintaining distance from Tehran and Moscow.
\nFor Syria itself, the visit sent a powerful signal of internal consolidation. Al-Sharaa strengthened his position among domestic elites by demonstrating his ability to negotiate with the world\u2019s leading power and to open pathways for foreign investment. His internal legitimacy also grew because the trip undermined the influence of the SDF \u2013 the last major force controlling the country\u2019s eastern regions. If the US and T\u00fcrkiye truly intend to redistribute territorial control in favor of the central government, the SDF risks losing not only its external support but also its political relevance.
\nAt the same time, al-Sharaa\u2019s promises of a \u201cfive-year transition toward a pluralistic system\u201d evoke skepticism. His armed forces have already conducted several operations against minority communities \u2013 the Alawites and Druze \u2013 resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties, casting doubt on the sincerity of his democratic rhetoric. For the United States, this poses a dilemma: on the one hand, Washington gains in al-Sharaa an effective partner against ISIS and Iran; on the other, it risks being accused of backing a regime that continues to rely on coercion and violence at home.
\nThe regional dimension of the visit is no less significant. T\u00fcrkiye, which had supported al-Sharaa during his war against Assad, is emerging as an intermediary between him and the West. This enables Ankara to advance its own strategic aims \u2013 neutralizing the Kurdish threat along its southern border and expanding its influence in post-war Syria.
\nMeanwhile, the Gulf monarchies \u2013 particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE \u2013 have expressed their readiness to invest in Syria\u2019s reconstruction, provided that US sanctions are formally lifted. European nations, too, are beginning to adapt their positions, exploring opportunities to participate in humanitarian and infrastructure projects under American oversight.<\/p>\n
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Taken together, Ahmad al-Sharaa\u2019s visit to Washington signaled the beginning of a new phase in Syrian diplomacy and a recalibration of regional alignments \u2013 one in which Syria seeks to transform itself from a passive object of great-power rivalry into an active architect of its own political future.
\nAlthough al-Sharaa\u2019s visit did not produce the kind of headline-grabbing economic deals typically associated with Donald Trump\u2019s style, it nonetheless fits squarely within Washington\u2019s broader strategy of outsourcing regional issues to its partners. For the Trump administration, the current stage of US policy in the Middle East is defined less by direct intervention than by the construction of an architecture of interdependence \u2013 one in which T\u00fcrkiye and the Gulf states assume primary responsibility for maintaining stability, while remaining bound to US strategic priorities.
\nIn this emerging system, the US acts as both coordinator and arbiter: it no longer seeks to resolve the Syrian crisis directly, but instead sets the parameters within which regional actors operate. In this sense, al-Sharaa\u2019s visit can be seen as part of a larger American design \u2013 an effort to delegate day-to-day regional management to Ankara and the Gulf monarchies while retaining control over financial flows, the sanctions regime, and the international legitimization of new political actors.
\nFor Ahmad al-Sharaa himself, the meeting carried an even deeper meaning. It was a step toward consolidating his political stature and expanding his room for maneuver on the international stage. The new Syrian president has relied heavily on informal channels \u2013 most notably his \u201cbasketball diplomacy,\u201d in which sports exchanges and symbolic gestures serve as a medium for demonstrating the openness and modernity of Syria\u2019s leadership.
\nThrough such forms of soft power, al-Sharaa seeks to soften perceptions of his controversial past and present himself as a pragmatic mediator between rival power centers. His foreign-policy course is oriented toward maintaining a delicate balance between Moscow and Washington \u2013 preserving working ties with Russia, which played a decisive role in the Syrian conflict, while simultaneously seeking political legitimacy and economic access from the West.
\nAlthough no official statements were made about the content of his conversation with Trump and Fidan, it is highly plausible that the Israeli factor featured among the topics discussed. In recent years, Israel has carried out a series of precision strikes against Syrian military and infrastructure targets, citing the need to contain Iranian influence. For the new Syrian authorities, these operations represent a serious threat: they erode domestic stability and reinforce the perception that Damascus remains vulnerable to external interference.
\nIt is likely that al-Sharaa and Fidan sought from Washington at least informal assurances that Israel would reduce the intensity of its strikes \u2013 or ideally suspend them altogether \u2013 during Syria\u2019s political transition. Even an unwritten understanding of this kind would provide the new government with a crucial window to pursue internal stabilization and advance political integration among the country\u2019s diverse ethno-confessional groups, particularly the Druze, who have suffered heavily in recent clashes.
\nThus, al-Sharaa\u2019s visit to Washington was not merely an act of diplomatic recognition but an opportunity to consolidate the emerging balance of power around a new Syria. For the US, it reflects a strategy of \u201cengaged detachment\u201d \u2013 a policy of setting the rules of the game while avoiding the burdens of direct commitment. For al-Sharaa, it represents a bid to turn international engagement \u2013 through contacts with Trump, Fidan, and others \u2013 into a tool for reinforcing legitimacy, promoting internal stability, and crafting a new diplomatic identity for Syria within the regional order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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