Trump Meets With Syria's Lead 05/14 06:29

   U.S. President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad 
al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first encounter between the two 
nations' leaders in 25 years and one that could mark a turning point for Syria 
as it struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.

   RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- U.S. President Donald Trump met with interim 
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first 
encounter between the two nations' leaders in 25 years and one that could mark 
a turning point for Syria as it struggles to emerge from decades of 
international isolation.

   The meeting, on the sidelines of Trump's get-together with the leaders of 
the Gulf Cooperation Council, marks a major turn of events for a Syria still 
adjusting to life after the over 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family.

   Trump had announced the day before as he kicked off his three-nation Middle 
East tour in Riyadh that he would also move to lift U.S. sanctions imposed on 
Syria under the deposed autocrat Bashar Assad.

   People across Syria cheered in the streets and set off fireworks on Tuesday 
night to celebrate, hopeful their nation -- locked out of credit cards and 
global finance -- might rejoin the world's economy when they need investments 
the most.

   Wednesday's meeting was also remarkable given al-Sharaa, under the nom de 
guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, had ties to al-Qaida and joined insurgents 
battling U.S. forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war. He was even 
imprisoned by U.S. troops there for several years.

   And the meeting came even after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 
had earlier asked Trump not to lift sanctions on Syria, again underscoring a 
growing discontent between the White House and the Israeli government as its 
war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip rages on.

   I am "ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh 
start," Trump told the Gulf Cooperation Council after his meeting with 
al-Sharaa. "It gives them a chance for greatness. The sanctions were really 
crippling, very powerful."

   A historic closed-door meeting

   Trump said on Tuesday that he would meet al-Sharaa, who had flown in to the 
Saudi capital for the face-to-face.

   Even before its ruinous civil war that began in 2011, Syria struggled under 
a tightly controlled socialist economy and under sanctions by the U.S. as a 
state-sponsor of terror since 1979.

   The Trump-al-Sharaa meeting took place behind closed doors and reporters 
were not permitted to witness the engagement. The White House later said it ran 
for just over 30 minutes, making al-Sharaa the first Syrian leader to meet an 
American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000.

   Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the meeting between Trump, 
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and al-Sharaa via a phone call. Turkey 
was a main backer to al-Sharaa and his rebel faction.

   "I felt very strongly that this would give them a chance," Trump said of 
Syria. "It's not going to be easy anyway, so gives them a good strong chance. 
And, it was my honor to do so."

   He added: "We made a speech last night and, that was the thing that got the 
biggest applause from the room."

   Trump cited the intervention of Saudi Prince Mohammed as key to his decision.

   "We commend the decision made yesterday by President Trump to lift the 
sanctions on the brotherly Syrian Arab Republic, which will alleviate the 
suffering of the Syrian people," he said in a speech to the GCC.

   What happened in the meeting?

   White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump 
urged al-Sharaa to diplomatically recognize Israel, "tell all foreign 
terrorists to leave Syria" and help the U.S. stop any resurgence of the Islamic 
State group.

   Trump also asked for the Syrian government to "assume responsibility" for 
over a dozen detention centers holding some 9,000 suspected members of the 
Islamic State group, Leavitt added. The prisons are run by the U.S.-backed and 
Kurdish-led forces that spearheaded the military campaign against the 
extremists and controlled the last sliver of land they once held in March 2019.

   As part of a deal reached in March between the Syrian government and the 
Kurdish-led forces, all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil 
fields in the northeast would be brought under the central government's control 
by the end of the year.

   Trump's desire for Syria to take over the prisons also signal the potential 
of a full American military withdrawal from Syria.

   Syria's Foreign Ministry said Trump and al-Sharaa discussed the Syrian-U.S. 
partnership in fighting terror and armed groups such as IS standing in the way 
of stability.

   Al-Sharaa's militant past sparks Israeli concern

   Al-Sharaa was named interim president of Syria in January, a month after a 
stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, 
or HTS, that stormed Damascus, ending the 54-year rule of the Assad family.

   Many Gulf Arab leaders have rallied behind the new government in Damascus 
and want Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran's return to 
influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Assad's government during a 
decadelong civil war.

   But longtime U.S. ally Israel has been deeply skeptical of al-Sharaa's 
extremist past and cautioned against swift recognition of the new government. 
The request came during Netanyahu's visit to Washington last month, according 
to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the 
subject.

   Israel was concerned a cross-border attack similar to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, 
assault, could come from Syria. Israel also fears al-Sharaa and his Islamist 
past could pose a threat on its northern border.

   Trump's move draws cheers from Syrians

   Syrians cheered the announcement by Trump that the U.S. will move to lift 
sanctions on the beleaguered Middle Eastern nation.

   The state-run SANA news agency published video and photographs of Syrians 
cheering in Umayyad Square, the largest in the country's capital, Damascus. 
Others honked their car horns or waved the new Syrian flag in celebration.

   People whistled and cheered as fireworks lit the night sky.

   A statement from Syria's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday night called the 
announcement "a pivotal turning point for the Syrian people as we seek to 
emerge from a long and painful chapter of war."

   "The removal of these sanctions offers a vital opportunity for Syria to 
pursue stability, self-sufficiency and meaningful national reconstruction, led 
by and for the Syrian people," the statement added.