Donald Trump has met with Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa during his three-nation tour of the Middle East – the first meeting between leaders of the two nations in 25 years.
After announcing the lifting of sanctions against Syria on Tuesday night, the US president called for Mr Al Sharaa to sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel and tell all foreign terrorists to leave the war-torn Middle Eastern country.
According to a White House readout of the meeting in Saudi Arabia, Mr Trump also called on the Syrian leader to deport Palestinian terrorists, help the US to prevent the resurgence of ISIS and assume responsibility for ISIS detention centres in northeast Syria.
Asked what the Syrian leader was like following their meeting, the US president said: “Great…A young, attractive guy…
“A tough guy.”
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Pictures from the meeting show the 78-year-old Republican shaking hands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and President Al Sharaa, who was responsible for the toppling of dictator Bashar al Assad.
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The meeting with Syria’s president came despite him being a one-time insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned by US forces after being captured in Iraq.
US correspondent
It was a meeting perfectly symbolic of Donald Trump’s message on this Middle East trip.
An American and Syrian president have not met face-to-face for 25 years.
It was in 2000 when Bill Clinton met Hafez al Assad, just months before he died, handing the family dynasty to his son Bashar.
But the remarkable nature of this meeting runs much deeper than that.
The 33-minute encounter between President Trump and President al Sharaa in Saudi Arabia is perfectly symbolic of the message that is emerging from this trip: reconciliation and opportunity – the Trump way.
Just a year ago, the man who is now Syria’s president was a jihadi military leader; an Islamist fighter whose group HTS and its precursor, the Nusra Front, had been aligned to al Qaeda and ISIS before turning on them.
The Americans had a $10m bounty on his head.
He was named president of Syria in January, a month after an offensive by insurgent groups led by his Hayat Tahrir al Sham, or HTS, stormed Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.
Formerly known as Abu Mohammed al Jolani, Mr Al Sharaa joined al Qaeda insurgents battling US forces in Iraq and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in that country.
The US once offered $10m for information about his whereabouts because of his links to al Qaeda.
The new Syrian president came back to his home country of Syria after the conflict began in 2011 and led al Qaeda’s branch that used to be known as the Nusra Front.
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He later changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir al Sham and cut links with al Qaeda.
Mr Trump said he agreed to meet with Mr Al Sharaa after being encouraged to do so by Mr Bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Foreign news reporter
As a result of global sanctions, Syria is one of the most economically restricted countries in the world along with Iran, North Korea and Cuba.
So the jubilant scenes on the streets of Damascus following Mr Trump’s announcement that the US would be lifting sanctions shows what it could mean for Syria.
While it’s not just America that has sanctions on Syria, the news is nonetheless a win for President al Sharaa as he seeks to govern a devastated and divided country.
Over the decades of Assad dictatorship, a number of countries slapped sanctions on Syria, particularly after the outbreak of civil war.
The US removing sanctions that cut Syria off from the global financial system could allow for greater assistance from humanitarian organisations and make it easier for foreign investment to come in to help rebuild the country.
While it’s hard to put an exact number on it, there are millions of pounds worth of Syrian assets held in foreign banks that have been frozen out of Damascus’s reach.
Any loosening of restrictions on Syria’s petroleum exports could also provide an additional financial boost to the country.
The UN has been pushing for countries to lift sanctions on Syria following the revolution.
Now the US is set to do so, it will be interesting to see if others follow suit.
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“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed,” Mr Trump said of Syria, adding, “I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
On Tuesday, Mr Trump suddenly announced the US would be lifting sanctions on Syria, which had been in place since 2011.
The lifting of sanctions on Syria “gives them a chance for greatness”, Mr Trump said.
“The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful.”
