US President Donald Trump urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to sign the Abraham Accords with Israel during their meeting ahead of the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh on Wednesday.
America’s president said he was also looking to normalize relations with Sharaa.
The meeting between the two came one day after Trump said the US was lifting sanctions on Syria.
Trump told the Syrian leader he has “a tremendous opportunity to do something historic in his country,” according to an official statement by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump also urged Sharaa to “tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, deport Palestinian terrorists, help the US prevent the resurgence of ISIS, and assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in the northeastern parts of the country.”
As for Shaara, he affirmed his commitment to the 1974 disengagement with Israel agreement, the White House statement said, recognized the opportunity of Iranians leaving Syria, and expressed interest in joint US-Syrian efforts in combating terrorism and eliminating chemical weapons.
Trump also said his Middle East trip was not meant to disregard Israel.
Rather, “I think it’s very good for Israel,” he said.
Sources told The Jerusalem Post that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was present in the meeting, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined via a video call.
Erdogan and the crown prince praised Trump for lifting the sanctions on Syria, Leavitt said.
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud said Saudi Arabia would support Syria’s economic recovery, and thanked Trump for lifting the US sanctions on Syria.
He said that now that these sanctions were lifted, there were many investment opportunities in Syria, with this consisting of a possible “breakthrough” in Saudi support for Damascus.
Israel has opposed sanctions relief for Syria, but Trump on Tuesday said that the Saudi crown prince and Erdogan, who are both close to the US president, encouraged him to make the move.
Trump’s business deals in the Middle East
Trump’s first day of a four-day swing through the Gulf region was marked by lavish ceremonies and business deals, including a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US.
Later on Wednesday, Trump flew to the Qatari capital Doha, where he participated in a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and other officials.
There, the two announced deals that the White House said were worth $1.2 trillion. That included an agreement by Qatar Airways to buy Boeing aircraft and GE Aerospace engines for $96 billion.
