The President of the United States, Donald Trump, advocated on Wednesday for initiating a “normalization” of relations with the new authorities of Syria after holding a meeting in Saudi Arabia with the transitional president, Ahmed al Shara, just a day after announcing the lifting of sanctions against Damascus, in what was the first meeting between leaders of both countries in a quarter of a century.
Al Shara is the leader of the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), a group that led the offensive of jihadists and rebels that overthrew Bashar al Assad’s regime in December 2024, who had been in power since the year 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al Assad, who had ruled the country since 1971.
Wednesday’s meeting between Trump and Al Shara marks a shift in United States policy, as the leader of HTS was previously considered a terrorist. This change comes after the announcement in December that the $10 million reward for information leading to his capture was being withdrawn.
How was the meeting between Donald Trump and Ahmed al Shara?
The President of the United States said during a speech before the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG), just minutes after his meeting with Al Shara in Riyadh, that Washington is “exploring normalization of relations with the new Syrian government”, before confirming that the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salman, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, participated in the meeting via video conference.
“We are currently exploring a normalization of relations with the new Syrian government, starting with my meeting with President Ahmed al Shara and Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio’s meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister (Asaad al Shaibani) in Turkey,” he said, before confirming that he has ordered “the lifting of sanctions against Syria” with the aim of “giving them a fresh start.”
“It gives them an opportunity for greatness. The sanctions were really harmful, very powerful,” highlighted Trump, while emphasizing that the situation “will not be easy in any case” in the Asian country, although he has stressed that “it gives them a good and firm opportunity” to advance the nation."
During Wednesday’s meeting, Erdogan himself stated that Washington’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria “is of historical significance” and expressed his support for Damascus “in the fight against terrorist organizations, especially the Islamic State,” as reported by the Turkish state news agency, Anatolia.
Trump described Al Shara as an “attractive” and “tough” man
Later, Trump gave a brief statement to the press on his way to Air Force One to board for Qatar, the second stage of his tour of the Middle East, in which he described Al Shara as “a young and attractive man.” “A tough guy. Strong background. A fighter,” he said.
He highlighted that the meeting between them was “great” and expressed his hope that Syria will join the “Abraham Accords” signed in 2020 by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, which led to the normalization of relations between these countries and Israel.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated in a press release that Trump asked Al Shara to join the mentioned agreements, “tell foreign terrorists to leave Syria”, “deport Palestinian terrorists”, “help the United States prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State”, and “take responsibility for the detention centers of ISIS members in northeastern Syria” in order to advance the normalization of relations.