U.S. President Donald Trump met with Syria’s president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia. He urged Sharaa for Syria to establish ties with Israel, especially after a surprise U.S. announcement that it would lift all sanctions from Syria. The sanctions had been weakening the Islamist-led country’s economy.
Donald Trump & The New Leader of Syria Meet
After he met with Syria’s Sharaa, Trump flew to Qatar, where he oversaw the deal for the Gulf Arab country to purchase jets from Boeing, the U.S. manufacturer. He didn’t address a controversial separate offer by Qatar to donate a Boeing jet as Trump’s official airplane. That separate offer has generated concerns in Washington over its security and ethical implications.
Syria is seeking to reestablish itself after suffering more than a decade of civil war. Before meeting with Al-Sharaa, Trump openly declared that he would lift the sanctions on Syria. Trump said, “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump told an investment forum in Riyadh, at the start of a tour of Gulf Arab states. “It’s their time to shine. We’re taking them all off,” Trump said, “Good luck, Syria, show us something very special.”
Trump said that Sharaa, he would be willing to eventually be part of the Abraham Accord, a 2020 agreement backed by the United States, which saw Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco agree to relations with Israel. Under the right circumstances, Syrian officials would be more willing to normalize relations with Israel. Trump said, “I told him, ‘I hope you’re going to join when it’s straightened out.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do.”
He continued, “He’s got a real shot at holding it together.” Trump described his meeting with Sharaa as “great.” Saudi State television posted pictures of Trump and Sharaa shaking hands in front of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The visit shows the growing ties between the United States and the oil-rich region, where Trump’s real estate company is developing projects.
Concerns about a conflict of interest between Trump’s duties as president and his business interests have been raised. The president has brushed off concerns about his move to accept the $400 million luxury plane from Qatar to officially serve as Air Force One, saying that rejecting the offer would be “stupid.” Qatar has made efforts to strengthen ties with Trump in his second term in office.
The meeting makes for a turning point for Syria, still adjusting after the 50-year rule of the Assad family. Trump said that he was asked to remove the sanctions on Syria. He told the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, “It’s not going to be easy anyway. So it gives them a good, strong chance, and it was my honor to do so. There were some concerns from many countries about Sharaa’s past.
Final Thoughts
There were fears that Sharaa would seek to rule by force due to a series of deadly conflicts between factions loyal to Sharaa’s government. Trump’s meeting with Sharaa comes amid the drop in approval numbers in Florida and Texas. However, Sharaa has conducted himself as an able diplomat and has toured the Arab world and other nations to quell those concerns. This month, he flew to Paris, France, and met with President Emmanuel Macron, who has also urged for an easing of sanctions. Sharaa has hinted at friendly relations with Israel, which has been carrying out airstrikes since the Assad regime fell. In other news, there have been more questions about the Qatar aircraft for Trump.
