In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump is scheduled to have a meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Al-Sharaa, once a rebel leader, played a pivotal role in toppling former Syrian leader Bashar Assad last year.
“The President agreed to say hello to the Syrian President while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow,” the White House said.
This meeting with President Trump marks a significant milestone for Al-Sharaa, who was previously arrested in Iraq for his involvement in the insurgency following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Following a successful offensive led by Al-Sharaa’s group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that culminated in the fall of Damascus and the end of the Assad family’s five-decade rule, Al-Sharaa assumed the presidency of Syria in January.
The United States has been deliberating its approach towards Al-Sharaa since he assumed power in December. Leaders from the Gulf countries have expressed their support for the new Syrian government and are likely to urge President Trump to do the same. They view the new administration in Damascus as a barrier against Iran’s resurgence in Syria, where Iran had previously supported Assad’s regime throughout the ten-year civil war.
Then-President Joe Biden left the decision to Trump, whose administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.
In remarks Tuesday evening in Riyadh, Trump is expected to say that “we must all hope” the al-Sharaa government “will succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” according to excerpts released by the White House.
As he prepared to leave Washington, Trump said he’s weighing removing sanctions on the Syrian government.
“We may want to take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start,” said Trump, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged him to do so.
The comments marked a striking change in tone from Trump, who has been deeply skeptical of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq.
Al-Sharaa, whom the U.S. once offered $10 million for information about his whereabouts because of his links to al-Qaida, came back to his home country after the conflict began in 2011 where he led al-Qaida’s branch that used to be known as the Nusra Front. He later changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and cut links with al-Qaida.
Al-Sharaa is set to become the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since the late Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000.
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