U.S. President Donald Trump met with Syrian interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss normalising relations between the U.S. and Syria. This is the first meeting between a US president and a Syrian leader in decades.
Turkish President joins the meeting online Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Turkey's Anadolu Agency reported.
Trump described the meeting with al-Sharaa as the beginning of a process to normalize relations with Damascus, while calling on Syria to join Abraham's covenantsaimed at establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. This is despite the fact that the Israeli army has launched repeated attacks on Syrian territory since the fall of the regime in December Bashar Assad.
At an investment forum in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Trump announced lifting of sanctions against Syria. "I'm giving Syria a chance for greatness," he said, announcing a major reversal in US policy towards Damascus.
During the summit with Gulf leaders, Trump also commented on the ongoing indirect negotiations with Iran about its nuclear program. He stressed that he was open to a deal if Iran ended its support for terrorism, stopped proxy wars and permanently renounced its development of nuclear weapons.
Trump also announced new sanctions against Iran and called on all countries to enforce them. Tehran reacted strongly - Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi called Trump's words "pure deception" and accused him of distorting the real threats.
Trump's first major foreign trip since taking office includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In Riyadh, he has already won investment commitments of $600 billion.
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