In a surprising and unprecedented step, US President Donald Trump met this morning, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, with Syrian President Ahmed Al -Shara in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on the sidelines of the American Gulf Summit, after Trump announced the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Syria.

This meeting is the first of its kind between an American president and his Syrian counterpart in more than two decades, and comes after dramatic transformations in the Syrian scene, where Sharia, previously known as Abu Muhammad Al -Jolani, took over the presidency last January after the overthrow of the Bashar al -Assad regime.

Trump announced during a speech yesterday at the Saudi -American Investment Forum for his decision to lift the sanctions on Syria, noting that this step came with the support of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who consider Sharia a basic pillar in the face of Iranian influence in the region.

Although Sharia was previously linked to terrorist classified groups, his rise to power with the support of regional powers, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, prompted Washington to reassess its position, especially in light of regional pressure to reintegrate Syria into the international system.

The meeting, which was arranged by the Saudi Crown Prince, is seen as an indication of the beginning of a new stage in the relations between Washington and Damascus, after years of estrangement and sanctions. 

It is expected that this rapprochement will contribute to accelerating the efforts of the reconstruction of Syria and its return to the international scene, despite the reservations that some parties, such as Israel, expressed regarding the past of Sharia and its previous relationships. 

It is noteworthy that Sharia, born in Riyadh in 1982, had led a successful military attack in December 2024 that led to the fall of the Assad regime, and then took over the presidency of the transitional government in January 2025.

This meeting is a turning point in American policy towards Syria, and it may open the door to more diplomatic and economic openness between the two countries.