Trump holds historic first meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa

by · UPI

May 14 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday became the first American president to meet with his Syrian counterpart in a quarter of a century, holding informal talks with the country's transitional leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Riyadh.

The meeting which was reported by the BBC, CNN and The New York Times, came after Trump announced he was lifting "crippling" U.S. sanctions on Syria originally imposed to block flows of money into Syria, including aid, to put pressure on the brutal regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

In a post on X the White House said Trump told al-Sharaa he had "a tremendous opportunity to do something historic in his country."

Trump also called on al-Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel by signing onto the route-map for regional peace provided by the Abraham Accords, order "foreign terrorists" out of Syria, including Palestinian militants, assist U.S. efforts to prevent ISIS reforming and take responsibility for ISIS detention camps in northeast Syria.

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For his part, al-Sharaa acknowledged the "significant opportunity presented by the Iranians leaving Syria, as well as shared U.S.-Syrian interests in countering terrorism and eliminating chemical weapons.

He did not respond regarding Israel, but said he was committed to the 1974 Israel-Syria "Agreement on Disengagement" cease-fire which has been enforced by a U.N. Peaekeeping Force for the past 50 years.

However, al-Sharaa invited American companies to invest in Syria's oil and gas sector, which has been crippled by the country's 13-year civil war, and expressed the ambition for his country to become an important trading axis between east and west.

Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is hosting Trump on a two-day state visit to the kingdom, sat in on the meeting which was also attended Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the phone.

Trump agreed to lift the sanctions on Syria at the urging of Prince Mohammed and Erdogan.

The United States had a $10 million bounty on offer for the arrest of the former Al-Qaida commander as recently as December but canceled it after the rebel leader helped topple the decades-long dictatorship of the Assad family and pledged a moderate administration that would restore stability and rebuild, rid the country of Iran's presence and re-engage with its neighbors and the wider world.

Al-Sharaa, who was appointed president in January, has promised to hold elections once a new constitution is in place in around four years.

The last time a U.S. president met with a Syrian President was in 2000 when President Bill Clinton met the late President Hafez al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad's father.