ShareRIYADH/DOHA: US President Donald Trump met Syria’s new leader in Riyadh on Wednesday and asked him to normalize relations with the Zionist entity, after he offered a major boost to the war-ravaged country by announcing the lifting of sanctions. Trump then flew to Qatar, where he oversaw the signing of a deal for the Gulf Arab country to buy jets from US manufacturer Boeing.
Trump became the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader — Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile Islamist guerrilla who had been on a US wanted list and led the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad in December.
The interim Syrian president and Trump, wearing matching suits, shook hands as they met jointly in Riyadh with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and, by video link, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — the key supporter of the new government in Damascus. While aboard Air Force One en route to Qatar, Trump poured praise on Sharaa, saying the meeting went “great” and describing the leader as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”
Turkey and Saudi Arabia had both advocated reconciliation with Syria, but the move is the latest to put Trump at odds with the Zionist entity, which has expressed deep skepticism of Sharaa and ramped up its military strikes against Syria to degrade its longtime adversary’s military capabilities. When asked if Sharaa said he’d join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with the Zionist entity, Trump said: “I told him, I hope you’re going to join once you’re straightened out and he said yes. But they have a lot of work to do.”
Trump also asked Sharaa to deport Palestinian militants and tell foreign fighters to leave the country, as well as to take control of camps for captured Islamic State group fighters, currently run by Kurdish forces opposed by Turkey, the White House said. Syria’s foreign ministry hailed the meeting as “historic”, but did not mention the Abraham Accords. State media also did not mention normalization.
The ministry said the leaders discussed “avenues for Syrian-American partnership in counterterrorism efforts” and the importance of lifting sanctions and supporting reconstruction. After the longer-than-expected half-hour meeting, Trump said the Assad-era sanctions had been “really crippling”. “It’s not going to be easy anyway, so it gives them a good, strong chance, and it was my honor to do so,” Trump said, addressing Gulf Arab leaders.
The former reality television host, always attuned to crowd sizes, took note of the rapturous reception when he announced the decision at a Riyadh investment forum Tuesday. “That was the thing that got the biggest applause from the room. We had a very crowded room with thousands of people,” Trump said.
After the announcement, Syrians celebrated in cities across the country overnight. “These sanctions were imposed on Assad, but... now that Syria has been liberated, there will be a positive impact on industry, it’ll boost the economy and encourage people to return,” said soap factory owner Zain al-Jabali, 54, in Aleppo. Washington imposed sweeping restrictions on financial transactions with Syria during the brutal civil war and made clear it would use sanctions to punish anyone involved in reconstruction so long as Assad remained in power without accountability for atrocities.
Rabha Seif Allam of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said easing US sanctions would help reintegrate Syria with the global economy by allowing bank transfers from investors and from millions of Syrians who fled during the civil war. “Lifting sanctions will give Syria a real opportunity to receive the funding needed to revive the economy, impose central state authority and launch reconstruction projects with clear Gulf support,” she said.
Trump touched down at Hamad International Airport in Doha on Wednesday afternoon, where he was met by Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Trump and Sheikh Tamim announced deals that the White House said were worth $1.2 trillion. That included an agreement by Qatar Airways to buy Boeing aircraft and GE Aerospace engines.
The president later boasted that Qatar Airways had placed a “record” order worth more than $200 billion in jet sales as he signed a raft of deals. “It’s over $200 billion but 160 in terms of the jets. That’s fantastic. So that’s a record,” Trump said, adding: “It’s the largest order of jets in the history of Boeing. That’s pretty good.” Trump said the two leaders discussed Iran and the Ukraine-Russia war. “We always had a very special relationship,” Trump said of the Amir. – Agencies
