Trump Meets With Syrian Leader Al-shaara in Riyadh

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—President Donald Trump held a meeting with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, according to the White House. The historic meeting took place after the president announced on May 13 that he would lift sanctions on Syria.

The meeting with the Syrian leader took place before the president’s scheduled address to the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises six countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

Following his meetings in Riyadh on the second day of his Middle East tour, Trump will travel to Doha, Qatar, for the next leg of his trip.

Trump, on May 13, announced he had ordered the cessation of U.S. sanctions against Syria, warming diplomatic relations with the country’s de facto new leaders.

“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said in an address to the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday.

After the announcement, the entire conference room erupted in a long, standing ovation.

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The United States had imposed sanctions against Syria after the country fell into a state of civil war in 2011. They were aimed at increasing pressure on former leader of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, who eventually relinquished power and fled the country in December 2024, in the face of a surprise rebel offensive.

Syria is currently under the control of a self-styled transitional government. The government formed from a mix of opposition figures led by individuals from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni terrorist group formed from a merger of a Syrian Al Qaeda offshoot known as al-Nusra Front. HTS remains designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization for its extremist roots and connections.

Since seizing Damascus, HTS and its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, have sought to distance themselves from their Sunni Islamist fundamentalist roots and strike a more moderate tone.

Speaking in Saudi Arabia, Trump signaled he’s willing to give the new Syrian government some new diplomatic leeway and hopes to see post-Assad Syria flourish.

Ryan Morgan Morgan contributed to this story.