The president announced he had ordered the cessation of U.S. sanctions against Syria, warming diplomatic relations with the country’s de facto new leaders.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—President Donald Trump held a meeting with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. The historic meeting took place after the president announced on May 13 that he would lift sanctions on Syria.
The meeting with the Syrian leader took place before the president’s scheduled address to the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises six countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.
“We are currently exploring normalizing relations with Syria’s new government,” Trump said during his remarks to the GCC leaders, noting that the process began with his meeting earlier with al-Sharaa.
The White House said that Trump urged al-Sharaa to sign onto the Abraham Accords, an agreement that established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab neighbors in late 2020.
Trump also asked the Syrian leader to “tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, deport Palestinian terrorists, help the…
Read the full article here