President Donald Trump announced that Washington is considering normalizing diplomatic relations with Syria following his meeting with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa — the first such meeting between the two countries’ leaders in 25 years.
Speaking during a summit with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders in Riyadh on Wednesday, Trump confirmed the meeting and declared that the United States would lift “all sanctions” on Syria.
“With the support of the great leaders in this room, we are currently exploring normalizing relations with Syria’s new government,” Trump said. “We will be dropping all sanctions.”
Trump said the move is aimed at giving Syria “a fresh start,” after decades of authoritarian rule under the now-toppled al-Assad regime. The announcement follows a major political transition in Syria, where al-Sharaa’s opposition forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December.
The U.S. president said he discussed the lifting of sanctions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier in the day. Further talks are planned between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Turkiye.
A White House statement detailed Trump’s demands during the meeting with al-Sharaa: that Syria deport Palestinians labeled as “terrorists,” join the Abraham Accords with Israel, and take over responsibility for ISIS detention centers in the country’s northeast.
The announcement was met with widespread applause from Arab leaders present in Riyadh and sparked celebrations in Syrian cities, where citizens saw the move as a potential turning point in their post-Assad recovery.
Trump is currently on a four-day Gulf tour. After Saudi Arabia, he arrived in Doha for a state visit with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Qatar is expected to unveil major investments in the United States, including a significant purchase of widebody jets from Boeing by Qatar Airways, according to Reuters.
Trump’s Gulf visit has so far included opulent ceremonies and major economic agreements — including a $600 billion Saudi investment pledge and $142 billion in U.S. arms sales.
After Qatar, Trump will fly to Abu Dhabi for meetings with UAE leadership. He is scheduled to return to Washington on Friday, though he has hinted at a potential detour to Turkiye for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in pursuit of a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
