President Trump's New Syria 'Move': High-Level Meeting, Call for Reconciliation with Israel

Mr Trump met Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa ahead of a summit between the US and Gulf Arab states. Images broadcast on Saudi state television showed them shaking hands in the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan joined Trump and MbS in a virtual meeting, Türkiye's Anadolu news agency reported. The White House press secretary posted on X that Trump called on Sharaa to join the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Morocco, which normalized relations with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020.

The US also hopes Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords. Talks on the issue stalled after the Gaza war broke out, with the kingdom insisting there can be no normalisation without a Palestinian state.

Mr. Trump said on May 13 that Saudi Arabia would join the agreement at their own appropriate time.

Despite concerns in some parts of the administration about Syrian leaders' past links to Al Qaeda, Mr. Trump said on May 13 in a speech in Riyadh that he would lift sanctions on Syria, marking a major policy shift.

He also said Washington was looking at normalizing relations with the Syrian government, starting with his meeting with Mr. Sharaa.

Motivation for Syria's new leaders

The lifting of sanctions comes despite deep Israeli suspicions of Mr. Sharaa’s government, concerns initially shared by some U.S. officials. Israeli officials continue to describe Mr. Sharaa as a jihadist, even though he broke with al Qaeda in 2016. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The decision is a major boost for Mr Sharaa, who has struggled to bring the country under Damascus government control after the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Lifting US sanctions, which have cut Syria off from the global financial system, would pave the way for greater involvement of humanitarian organizations working in Syria, facilitating foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds.

US ally Israel has opposed lifting sanctions on Syria and has escalated military operations since Mr Assad was toppled, saying it will not tolerate the presence of Islamist forces in southern Syria.

Israel has occupied territory in the southwest of the country, warning the Syrian government not to deploy forces there, and destroyed much of the Syrian Army's heavy weapons and equipment in the days after Mr. Assad's fall.

The challenges facing Syria's new government were also exposed in March when Assad loyalists attacked government forces, leading to retaliatory attacks in which Islamist gunmen killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority, drawing strong condemnation from the United States.

Mr. Sharaa was for many years the leader of al Qaeda’s official affiliate in the Syrian conflict. He first joined the group in Iraq, where he spent five years in a U.S. prison. The U.S. lifted a $10 million reward for Mr. Sharaa’s capture in December 2024.

The Syrian foreign minister said in a statement on May 14 that the meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Sharaa included discussions on counterterrorism and cooperation in eliminating the influence of non-state actors and armed groups that threaten Syria's stability, including IS.

This meeting will be followed by another between the Syrian Foreign Minister and his US counterpart Marco Rubio.

Business agreements

The first day of Mr Trump's four-day tour through the Gulf region was marked by lavish ceremonies 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 on May 14, Mr. Trump will fly to the Qatari capital, Doha, where he will pay a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and other officials. Qatar, a key U.S. ally, is expected to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the United States.

Mr Trump's visit to Doha follows the White House's announcement this week that it plans to receive a Boeing 747-8, which will be fitted out to serve as Air Force One, as a gift from Qatar.

The luxury plane, one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the US government, will eventually be donated to Mr Trump's presidential library, sparking outrage from Democrats and security concerns from both parties.

While the exact details of the investments Qatar plans to announce on May 14 are unclear, Qatar Airways is expected to announce a deal to buy about 100 wide-body aircraft from Boeing, according to a source familiar with the matter.

After his visit to Qatar, Mr. Trump will fly to Abu Dhabi to meet with UAE leaders on May 15. He is then scheduled to fly back to Washington on May 16, but he said he may instead fly to Turkey for a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.