DOHA, May 14 — United States (US) President Donald Trump met with Syria's president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and urged him to normalise ties with longtime foe Israel, after a surprise US announcement that it would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government.
Trump met Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa, who once pledged allegiance to al Qaeda and swept to power at the head of a group that Washington has called a terrorist organisation, before a summit between the United States and Gulf Arab countries.
The White House press secretary posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he urged Sharaa to join the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco, which normalised relations with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020.
Trump said he thought Syria would join at some point, according to a Washington Post pool report.
"I think they have to get themselves straightened up. I told him, 'I hope you are going to join when it is straightened out.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do," he said.
Photos posted on Saudi state television showed them shaking hands in the presence of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS.
Despite concerns within sectors of his own administration over Syria's leaders' former ties to al Qaeda, Trump said on Tuesday that he would lift sanctions on Syria in a major policy shift.
Trump's Middle East trip has fuelled doubts in Israel about where the country stands in Washington's priorities.
The US is exploring the possibility of normalising ties with Syria, one of Israel's biggest foes, and holding nuclear talks with its other enemy, Iran. This has sidelined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies in the government.
Israel considers Iran's nuclear program "an existential threat" and does not trust Syria's new Islamist president. Israeli officials have continued to describe Sharaa as a jihadist, though he severed ties with al Qaeda in 2016.
The Israeli Prime Minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump, who said his Gulf region trip does not sideline Israel, told the press that the fact he has relationships with countries in the Middle East is "very good for Israel".
He said the meeting with Sharaa, who he described as a young, attractive guy with a very strong past, was "great".
"He has got a real shot at holding it together," said Trump.
Sharaa was for years the leader of al Qaeda's official wing in the Syrian conflict.
He first joined the group in Iraq, where he spent five years in a U.S. prison. The United States removed a US$10 million (RM42.90 million) bounty on his head in December.
The US. also hopes regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords, but discussions came to a halt after the Gaza war erupted and the kingdom insists there can be no normalisation without Palestinian statehood.
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United States President Donald Trump (centre left) attends a group photo session with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, 2025. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
Boost for Syria's new leaders
The decision to lift sanctions is a boost for Sharaa, who has been struggling to bring the country under the control of the government after toppling former President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Removing US barriers that cut Syria off from the global financial system will clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organisations and will ease foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds from a civil war.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud told a press conference that there are many investment opportunities in Syria and Riyadh will support its economic recovery.
Israel, which counts the US as its strongest ally, opposes sanctions relief for Syria and has escalated military strikes there since Assad was toppled, saying it will not tolerate an Islamist presence in southern Syria.
The challenges facing Syria's new government were also laid bare in March when Assad loyalists assailed government forces, prompting attacks in which Islamist gunmen killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority, drawing US condemnation.
On Wednesday, the Syrian foreign minister said the meeting between Trump and Sharaa included discussions about combating terrorism and cooperation in eliminating the influence of armed groups that threaten Syrian stability, including Islamic State.
This meeting will be followed by another between the Syrian foreign minister and his US counterpart Marco Rubio.
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United States (US) President Donald Trump attends the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
Business deals
Trump's first day of a four-day swing through the Gulf region brought a US$600 billion (RM2.57 trillion) commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US and US$142 billion (RM609.1 billion) in US arms sales to the kingdom.
On Wednesday, Trump flew to the Qatari capital Doha, which he helped isolate in 2017, when he lent support to a trade and diplomatic embargo imposed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on Qatar. They accused the tiny but wealthy gas producer of backing terrorism, among other charges.
Qatar has since sought to rehabilitate itself in Washington's eyes, and Doha's efforts have been rewarded by the first visit to Qatar by a US president in 23 years.
The US and Qatar signed agreements on defence and aircraft deals, with Qatar Airways ordering 160 Boeing jets for over US$200 billion (RM858 billion). Trump and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who said Doha and Washington "are going to another level" witnessed the signing ceremony.
— Reuters
