U.S. President Donald Trump met with Syrian leader Ahmed Al Sharaa today in Riyadh and urged him to normalise ties with Israel.
In a statement, the White House said that during the meeting, Trump asked Al Sharaa to deport Palestinians it described as “terrorists,” “sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel” and “assume responsibility for ISIS detention centres in northeast Syria.”
There has been no comment from Damascus about the demands as yet.
The meeting came a day after Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria which marks a “pivotal turning point,” according to the country’s foreign minister.
“We welcome President Donald Trump’s recent comments about lifting sanctions that were imposed on Syria in response to war crimes committed by the Assad regime,” Asaad al-Shaibani told the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Shaibani described it as “a pivotal turning point for the Syrian people as we move toward a future of stability, self-sufficiency and genuine reconstruction after years of devastating war.”
“We view this announcement very positively and are ready to build a relationship with the U.S. based on mutual respect, trust and shared interests,” he added.
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Shaibani said Trump “has the potential to secure a historic peace deal and a real victory for American interests in Syria” and “he has already done more for the Syrian people than his predecessors, who allowed war criminals to cross red lines and commit massacres.”
Shaibani also thanked Saudi Arabia, crediting its leadership and diplomacy for supporting Syria’s push to end the “unjust sanctions.”
In a post on X, he praised Riyadh’s role in backing Syria’s return to its effective role in the region, calling Saudi diplomacy “a voice of wisdom” and an affirmation of Arab unity.
Trump said during the 2025 Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh that he would order the removal of “brutal and crippling” U.S. sanctions on Syria to give that country “a chance at greatness.”
Syria had been designated “a state sponsor of terrorism” since 1979, when deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, was president.
Further sanctions and restrictions were placed on Syria in 2003.
Following the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the U.S. government ramped up sanctions in an attempt to deprive the regime of the resources it needed “to continue violence against civilians and to pressure the Syrian regime to allow for a democratic transition.”
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, a day ahead of a meeting with Trump, the Syrian presidency said in a statement.
Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia earlier in the day, kicking off a Gulf tour that will continue with visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — his first major international trip of his second term besides a brief visit to Italy for Pope Francis’ funeral.
A new transitional administration was formed in Syria in January following the fall of the Assad regime.
Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party’s decades-long grip on power that began in 1963.
