Trump explores restoring relations with Syria
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The news: US President Donald Trump has said that the US is exploring the normalisation of relations with Syria, and confirmed his pledge to lift sanctions against the country’s new Islamist-led government.
The context: After meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday, Trump said that Washington was “currently exploring normalising relations with Syria’s new government.”
He said that his decision to lift sanctions on the war ravaged country would give Syrians a “fresh start” and it was his honour to give them a better chance to success.
Speaking of Sharaa in a press conference after their meeting, Trump said “He’s got a real shot at holding it together,” and that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “feels he’s got a shot of doing a good job. It’s a torn-up country.”
Sharaa’s Islamist movement led a rebel offensive that brought down Bashar al-Assad and his family’s 50-year rule over the state. The Syrian leader once pledged allegiance to al Qaeda, and his rebel offensive was called a terrorist organisation by Washington.
During the meeting, which at one stage was also attended by Erdoğan by phone, Trump urged Sharaa to normalise ties with Israel, a longstanding foe. The White House said that Trump pushed for Sharaa to sign on to the Abraham Accords with Israel which was brokered in Trump’s first term and led to the UAE and three other Arab states formalising relations with Israel in 2020.
The meeting with Syria’s leader in Riyadh came one day after Trump said he had secured USD600 billion ($933 billion) in investment commitments from Saudi Arabia across chip technology, defence, energy, healthcare and aircraft.
The sources: Capital Brief, FT, Reuters
