Trump meets with Syria’s insurgent-turned-leader in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH Saudi Arabia AP U S President Donald Trump met with Syria s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday the first such encounter between the two nations leaders in years The meeting on the sidelines of Trump s get-together with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council marks a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the over -year iron-gripped rule of the Assad family Trump had declared the day before as he kicked off his three-nation Middle East tour in Riyadh that he would also move to lift U S sanctions imposed on Syria under the deposed autocrat Bashar Assad People across Syria cheered in the streets and set off fireworks on Tuesday night to celebrate hopeful their nation locked out of credit cards and global finance might rejoin the world s financial sector when they need investments the most of Wednesday s meeting was also remarkable given al-Sharaa under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani had ties to al-Qaida and joined insurgents battling U S forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war He was even imprisoned by U S troops there for several years And the meeting came even after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier required Trump not to lift sanctions on Syria again underscoring a growing discontent between the White House and the Israeli executive as its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip rages on I am ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh start Trump narrated the Gulf Cooperation Council after his meeting with al-Sharaa It gives them a chance for greatness The sanctions were really crippling very powerful A historic closed-door meeting Trump declared on Tuesday that he would meet al-Sharaa who had flown in to the Saudi capital for the face-to-face Even before its ruinous civil war that began in Syria struggled under a tightly controlled socialist commercial sector and under sanctions by the U S as a state-sponsor of terror since The Trump-al-Sharaa meeting took place behind closed doors and reporters were not permitted to witness the engagement The White House later declared it ran for just over minutes making al-Sharaa the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the meeting between Trump Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and al-Sharaa via a phone call Turkey was a main backer to al-Sharaa and his rebel faction I felt very strongly that this would give them a chance Trump noted of Syria It s not going to be easy anyway so gives them a good strong chance And it was my honor to do so He added We made a speech last night and that was the thing that got the biggest applause from the room Trump cited the intervention of Saudi Prince Mohammed as key to his decision We commend the decision made the previous day by President Trump to lift the sanctions on the brotherly Syrian Arab Republic which will alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people he noted in a speech to the GCC White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in a comment that Trump urged al-Sharaa to diplomatically recognize Israel tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria and help the U S stop any resurgence of the Islamic State group Trump also petitioned for the Syrian authorities to assume responsibility for over a dozen detention centers holding chosen suspected members of the Islamic State group Leavitt added The prisons are run by the U S -backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that spearheaded the military campaign against the extremists and controlled the last sliver of land they once held in March Part of a deal reached in March between the Syrian leadership and the SDF all demarcation crossings with Iraq and Turkey airports and oil fields in the northeast would be brought under the central regime s control by the end of the year Trump s desire for Syria to take over the prisons also signal the foreseen of a full American military withdrawal from Syria Al-Sharaa s militant past sparks Israeli concern Al-Sharaa was named interim president of Syria in January a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS that stormed Damascus ending the -year rule of the Assad family Multiple Gulf Arab leaders have rallied behind the new regime in Damascus and want Trump to follow believing it is a bulwark against Iran s return to influence in Syria where it had helped prop up Assad s ruling body during a decadelong civil war But longtime U S ally Israel has been deeply skeptical of al-Sharaa s extremist past and cautioned against swift recognition of the new governing body The request came during Netanyahu s visit to Washington last month according to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the subject Israel was concerned a cross-border attack similar to Hamas Oct assault could come from Syria Israel also fears al-Sharaa and his Islamist past could pose a threat on its northern dividing line Trump s move draws cheers from Syrians Syrians cheered the announcement by Trump that the U S will move to lift sanctions on the beleaguered Middle Eastern nation The state-run SANA news agency published video and photographs of Syrians cheering in Umayyad Square the largest in the country s capital Damascus Others honked their car horns or waved the new Syrian flag in celebration People whistled and cheered as fireworks lit the night sky A report from Syria s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday night called the announcement a pivotal turning point for the Syrian people as we seek to emerge from a long and painful chapter of war The removal of these sanctions offers a vital opportunity for Syria to pursue stability self-sufficiency and meaningful national reconstruction led by and for the Syrian people the message added