The US President Donald Trump met with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on May 14.
This is reported by The Washington Post.
Trump is scheduled to attend a closing event in Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with leaders from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He will then travel to Doha, where he will meet with Qatari officials. A state dinner will be held at Lusail Palace.
Earlier in Washington, it was noted that the meeting between Donald Trump and Ahmed al-Sharaa, closed to the press, would be short — just to “greet”. According to WP, it took place before a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council on Wednesday morning. The meeting of politicians lasted 33 minutes — from 10:07 to 10:40, according to the White House.
Press secretary Caroline Leavitt said Trump spoke with the Syrian leader “at the invitation” of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia’s state news agency released a photo showing the prince watching Trump and al-Sharaa shake hands.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the meeting by phone, Leavitt said. He and Mohammed bin Salman lobbied for the lifting of sanctions on Syria after the fall of the Assad regime, the official added. The wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip were also discussed, but details were not known.
- Bloomberg, citing a White House source, reported on Trumpʼs brief meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on May 13. The article said the event was of great importance to Damascus, as the countryʼs new president is actively working to lift Western sanctions against Syria.
- Donald Trump later announced that he was going to lift US sanctions on Syria. The US president called them “cruel and destructive” but pointed out that at the time they were performing an “important function”.
- The Timesʼ sources noted that al-Sharaa offered Trump a Ukrainian-style mineral deal in exchange for sanctions relief, as well as the construction of Trump Tower in Damascus.
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