US President Donald Trump met with Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, marking the first meeting between US and Syrian leaders in 25 years.
At the meeting in Riyadh, Donald Trump told President Ahmed al-Sharaa that he admired him as a leader and congratulated him on the liberation of Syria. In turn, Ahmed al-Sharaa called on American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas fields.
The meeting was “extremely positive at all levels.” Earlier, the US leader said he would lift sanctions on the Arab Republic to “give it a chance at greatness.”
The official announcement of the lifting of sanctions was made during Trump’s regional tour, which began with a visit to Saudi Arabia.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said after the meeting that Trump called on the Syrian authorities to normalise relations with Israel within the framework of the Abraham Accords and to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State group. The parties also discussed the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip and the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“For his part, al-Sharaa expressed hope that Syria would serve as a critical link in facilitating trade between East and West, and invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas,” Leavitt wrote on social media.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, in an interview with the media, called Trump’s decision a “turning point” for the country. The lifting of sanctions opens the way for Syria to “a future of stability, self-sufficiency and recovery after years of devastating war,” he also added.
Media previously reported on the Syrian president’s plans to conclude a strategic agreement with the US, including American access to Syrian raw materials. The deal will be modelled on the agreement between the US and Ukraine on natural resources.
