Trump to Meet Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in Riyadh Amid Talks on Sanctions Relief
White House Confirms Rare Diplomatic Encounter as Trump Considers Easing Sanctions on Syria for a “New Beginning”.
Watan-A White House official said Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to meet with his Syrian counterpart Ahmad Al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday, as part of his ongoing four-day visit to the region, which began with a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Syrian-American activist Mayassa Qabbani confirmed in a post on X that Al-Sharaa will embark on an official visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. She added, “Our efforts succeeded following President Al-Sharaa’s April 30 visit with businessman Jonathan Bass, in arranging a meeting between President Trump and President Al-Sharaa.”
Syria has been struggling to meet conditions set by Washington for easing U.S. sanctions, which have kept the country isolated from the global financial system and made post-war economic recovery nearly impossible after 14 years of devastating war.
Trump Considers Easing Syria Sanctions as Al-Sharaa Meeting Nears Amid Gulf Mediation
During a press conference at the White House on Monday, Trump said: “We’ll have to make a decision on the sanctions. We may ease or lift them because we want to give Syria a fresh start.” He added: “The way sanctions are currently applied doesn’t give them a real opportunity… We want to see how we can help.”
In response, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Trump’s remarks, calling them “a positive step toward ending the suffering of the Syrian people.” The ministry added that although the sanctions were imposed on the former dictatorial regime and contributed to its fall, they now directly affect the Syrian population and hinder recovery and reconstruction.
Reuters previously reported that efforts were underway to arrange a meeting between Al-Sharaa and Trump this week. According to the agency, Al-Sharaa has taken several goodwill steps toward the Trump administration. The effort is being led by Gulf countries, an American businessman, and Syrian activists. While businessman Jonathan Bass has been identified as a key figure, the Gulf states and activists involved were not named.
Reuters added that Trump’s history of breaking diplomatic taboos—such as his 2019 meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in the DMZ—adds weight to the possibility of the meeting.
Bass hopes that the Trump-Al-Sharaa meeting will soften the Republican president’s stance on Damascus and ease rising tensions between Syria and Israel. The Syrian presidency also confirmed that Al-Sharaa had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday.
A source close to Al-Sharaa told Reuters that the meeting with Trump is still possible in Saudi Arabia, though it remains unclear whether an official invitation was extended.
Uncertainty Surrounds Trump-Al-Sharaa Meeting as U.S. Shifts Syria Policy Toward Counterterrorism
Three sources, including a U.S. official familiar with policy-making, told Reuters that the Biden administration has yet to define a coherent strategy toward Syria. However, it is increasingly viewing relations with Damascus through a counterterrorism lens.
Two of the sources noted that this perspective shaped the composition of the U.S. delegation during a meeting held last month in New York between the U.S. and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani, which included a senior State Department counterterrorism official.
According to those same sources, U.S. officials told Al-Shibani that Washington found Syria’s actions insufficient, especially concerning the U.S. demand to exclude foreign fighters from top military positions and to expel as many of them as possible. One source said the U.S. Treasury Department has since communicated additional demands to the Syrian government, bringing the total number of conditions to over a dozen.
