![US President Donald Trump (C) meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara (L) along with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (R) during the first leg of his three-country Middle East tour in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 14, 2025. [Bandar Al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Court - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AA-20250514-37944682-37944680-DONALD_TRUMP_AHMED_ALSHARA_MEETING_IN_RIYADH-1-1.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
US President Donald Trump held a meeting with Syria’s president in Saudi Arabia today, according to a Washington Post pool report, after a surprise US announcement it would lift all sanctions on the country’s new government, Reuters reports.
Despite concerns within sectors of his administration over Syria’s leaders’ former ties to Al-Qaeda, Trump said yesterday during a speech in Riyadh he would lift sanctions on Syria in a major policy shift.
The US president has agreed to say hello to interim Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who will be in Riyadh for meetings with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman virtually in the meeting, Turkiye’s Anadolu agency reported.
The decision is a major boost for Al-Sharaa, who has been struggling to bring the country under the control of the Damascus government after toppling former President Bashar Al-Assad in December.
READ: Trump says he will order removal of all US sanctions on Syria
The challenges were laid bare in March when Assad loyalists attacked government forces, prompting revenge attacks in which Islamist gunmen killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority, drawing strong US condemnation.
Al-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 US prison. The United States removed a $10 million bounty on Al-Sharaa’s head in December.
Trump’s first day of a four-day swing through the Gulf region was marked by lavish ceremony and business deals, including a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US and $142 billion in US arms sales to the kingdom.
Later today, Trump will fly to the Qatari capital Doha, where he will participate in a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and other officials. Qatar, a key US ally, is expected to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the US.
Trump’s visit to Doha was to follow the White House’s announcement this week that it plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 plane, which would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, as a gift from the Qataris.
The luxury plane, which would be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the US government, would eventually be donated to Trump’s presidential library. It has sparked outrage from Democrats and bipartisan security concerns. Some officials have said it could create a perception of corruption, even absent a quid pro quo.
While the precise details of the investments Qatar plans to announce today were unclear, Qatar Airways was expected to announce a deal to buy around 100 widebody jets from Boeing, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Following his visit to Qatar, Trump will fly to Abu Dhabi to meet the UAE’s leaders tomorrow. He is then slated to fly back to Washington on Friday, but he has said he could fly to Turkiye instead for a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
READ: Saudi crown prince discusses Syria’s security, stability with Sharaa