Trump meets Syrian president, urges him to establish ties with Israel

U.S. President Donald Trump met with Syria’s president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, encouraging him to establish normal relations with his longtime adversary, Israel, following an unexpected U.S. declaration that it would remove all sanctions on the Islamist-led administration.

Trump met with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously pledged loyalty to al Qaeda and rose to prominence at the forefront of a group that the U.S. has labeled a terrorist organization, prior to a summit between the United States and Gulf Arab nations.

Images shared by Saudi state television displayed them exchanging handshakes in the company of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, often referred to as MbS. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan participated virtually in the meeting alongside Trump and MbS, according to Turkey’s Anadolu News Agency.

Trump encouraged Sharaa to align with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco, which established normalized relations with Israel through the U.S.-mediated Abraham Accords in 2020, as stated by the White House press secretary on X.

The United States also wishes for Saudi Arabia to become part of the Abraham Accords, but talks stalled following the outbreak of the Gaza war, with the kingdom maintaining that normalization cannot occur without Palestinian statehood. On Tuesday, Trump stated that Saudi Arabia would join the agreements at its own pace.

Despite worries among parts of his administration regarding the previous connections of Syria’s leaders to al Qaeda, Trump announced on Tuesday his decision to lift sanctions on Syria, marking a significant policy change. He mentioned that Washington was considering normalizing ties with Syria’s government, starting with his meeting with Sharaa.

The removal of sanctions occurred despite significant Israeli distrust of Sharaa’s government. Israeli officials persist in labeling Sharaa as a jihadist, despite his break from al Qaeda in 2016. The ruling significantly aids Sharaa, who has faced challenges in establishing control over the nation from Damascus.