Sema
U.S. President Donald Trump held a landmark meeting with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday, a day after announcing his decision to lift longstanding U.S. sanctions on Syria, a White House official confirmed to AFP.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joined the meeting via video conference, according to Turkey’s state news agency. Erdoğan has been a key regional actor in post-conflict Syria and was reportedly one of the leaders who encouraged Trump to meet with al-Sharaa.
The meeting took place ahead of a scheduled summit between Trump and Gulf Arab leaders, part of the U.S. president’s regional tour aimed at reshaping alliances and fostering new diplomatic engagements in the Middle East.
The brief encounter between Trump and al-Sharaa—once a battlefield adversary of U.S. forces during the Iraq war—marks a significant diplomatic turn in Washington’s approach to Syria. Al-Sharaa assumed power earlier this year following the collapse of the Assad regime, leading a coalition of rebel factions that seized control of Damascus after more than a decade of civil war.
The White House has not yet released specific details about what was discussed during the meeting. However, the talks are seen as symbolically important, coming on the heels of Trump’s surprise announcement that he would lift sanctions first imposed in 2011 in response to Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on dissent.
“This is a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” Trump said on Tuesday, signaling a major shift in U.S. policy and framing the sanctions relief as a step toward encouraging peace and reconstruction.
Trump’s meeting with al-Sharaa also follows pressure from key U.S. allies in the region, notably Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, both of whom have played pivotal roles in shaping the emerging post-Assad order in Syria.
Regional Realignment and Cautious Optimism
Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, was once a notorious figure linked to al-Qaeda’s operations in Iraq. Over the past decade, however, he has worked to distance himself from extremist groups, rebranding his faction as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and attempting to position himself as a nationalist force capable of stabilizing Syria.
Despite his controversial past, regional powers have gradually opened the door to normalization, viewing al-Sharaa as a pragmatic alternative to prolonged chaos or Iranian-backed militia rule in Syria. Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab nations have expressed tentative support for engaging with the new leadership, with Baghdad and Riyadh publicly welcoming the lifting of sanctions as a step toward broader stability.
Observers note that Trump’s outreach to al-Sharaa may also serve broader strategic objectives, including countering Iranian influence, promoting reconstruction opportunities for U.S. companies, and redefining America’s role in the region after years of military entanglements.
More details about the content and outcomes of the Trump–al-Sharaa meeting are expected to emerge following the Gulf Cooperation Council summit, where the future of Syria—and broader regional coordination—will be high on the agenda.