Washington/Damascus: In a dramatic shift in American foreign policy, US President Donald Trump met with Syria’s new leader, President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia—just hours after announcing the lifting of longstanding US sanctions on Damascus.
The meeting signals a startling departure from past policy, because al-Sharaa, a former jihadist commander, once had a $10 million US bounty on his head for years.
Al-Sharaa’s rebel forces had led the charge on Damascus last year that toppled the decades-long rule of Bashar al-Assad, and he has since installed himself as the head of a government presenting itself to the world as inclusive and democratic.
Trump’s visit, after some European leaders did the same, could greatly bolster the new Syrian regime’s ties with the West, after it was diplomatically isolated from it for years under former President Bashar Al Assad.
In a statement following the high-profile encounter, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump told al-Sharaa he has a “tremendous opportunity to do something historic in his country”, encouraging the Syrian leader to join Saudi Arabia in normalising relations with Israel by signing the Abraham Accords, reports CBS News.
Trump also told al-Sharaa he should “tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria; Deport Palestinian terrorists; help the United States to prevent the resurgence of ISIS,” and “assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in Northeast Syria,” according to Leavitt.
The closed-door meeting was attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joining via phone.
According to Leavitt, President Erdoğan “praised President Trump for lifting sanctions on Syria and committed to working alongside Saudi Arabia to encourage peace and prosperity in Syria.” Crown Prince Mohammed echoed the sentiment, calling Trump’s move “courageous.”
Al-Sharaa expressed gratitude to Trump, MBS, and Erdoğan for facilitating the dialogue, acknowledging what he described as a “significant opportunity” presented by the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syrian territory.
He also affirmed Syria’s shared interests with the United States in countering terrorism and eliminating chemical weapons—an apparent nod to Western concerns that long fuelled Assad’s pariah status.
Trump used the occasion to take aim at Iran, warning that any future nuclear agreement would require Tehran to halt support for regional militias and abandon its nuclear ambitions entirely. “Iran must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons,” he said.
In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Tehran’s lead nuclear negotiator, denounced Trump’s remarks as “deceitful”, adding to tensions ahead of a new round of nuclear talks scheduled this week in Istanbul. Representatives from Britain, France, and Germany—the so-called E3—are expected to attend.
Looking to the future, President al-Sharaa expressed hope that Syria could become a “critical link” in global trade between East and West, and invited American companies to invest in Syria’s oil and gas sector, Leavitt confirmed.
The White House added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Syria’s new foreign minister later this week in Turkey, in what could be the next step in cautiously rebuilding US-Syrian relations.
UNI
