By Humeyra Pamuk
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa renewed his call on Monday for Washington to formally lift U.S. sanctions imposed under the 2019 Caesar Act while visiting New York to attend the first U.N. General Assembly of a Syrian leader in nearly six decades.
Sharaa, a former al Qaeda leader, led rebel forces that overthrew Bashar al-Assad's government last year. U.S. President Donald Trump met him in Riyadh in May and ordered most sanctions lifted but the legislation authorizing
them remains U.S. law.
Speaking at a summit on the sidelines of the General Assembly, Sharaa said the sanctions imposed on the previous Syrian leadership were no longer justified and were increasingly seen by Syrians as measures targeting them directly.
"We have a big mission to build the economy," Sharaa told retired General David Petraeus, who commanded U.S. forces during the Iraq War, in an interview conducted on a stage.
"Syria has a diverse workforce. They love to work, it's in its genes. So don't be worried, just lift the sanctions and you will see the results."
Washington has been pressuring Syria to reach a security deal with Israel during the New York meetings this week, Reuters reported.
Damascus hopes to secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
Sharaa said those talks had reached an advanced stage and he hoped the outcome would preserve Syria's sovereignty and address Israeli security concerns.
Syria remains deeply fractured after 13 years of civil war.
Sharaa said a deal with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in control of the northeast of the country, was delayed. Calls for decentralization by Kurdish parties were a step toward separation that risked igniting a wider war, he said.
Sharaa, the first Syrian president to participate in the General Assembly since 1967, is expected to deliver his first address at the General Assembly, which opens its 80th session on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in New York, additional reporting by Menna Alaaeldin and Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Writing by Simon Lewis; Editing by Howard Goller)
