Donald Trump praises ‘young, attractive’ Syrian leader in major Middle East reset

The meeting between the US and Syrian president, who is still designated by Washington as a terrorist, was the first of its kind in 25 years.

Donald Trump shakes hands with Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Picture: Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP

Donald Trump has met with Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, urging him to seize a historic opportunity to normalise relations with Israel and rid the country of terrorists, before flying to Qatar where he inked an economic exchange agreement.

It was the first meeting between the leaders of the US and Syria in 25 years, with the US President describing al-Sharaa afterwards as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended the 33 minute meeting on the sidelines of The Gulf Cooperation Council at the Ritz-Carlton, while Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan joined by phone.

“He’s got a real shot at holding it together. I spoke with President Erdogan, who is very friendly with him. He feels he’s got a shot of doing a good job. It’s a torn up country,” the US President said afterwards. “I think he’s got the potential to do — he’s a real leader. He led a charge and he’s pretty amazing.”

A readout of the meeting provided by the White House revealed that Mr Trump thanked Mr Erdogan and the Crown Prince for their friendship and encouraged Mr al-Sharaa to sign on to the Abraham Accords with Israel - the bilateral agreements for economic and diplomatic co-operation between Israel and Arab nations that began in Mr Trump’s first term.

Mr Trump also asked Mr Sharaa to tell foreign terrorists to leave Syria, to deport Palestinian terrorists, work with the United States in preventing the resurgence of ISIS and assume responsibility for ISIS detention centres in Northeast Syria.

As he flew on to Qatar on Air Force One, Mr Trump said of Israel and Syria: “I think they have to get themselves straightened up. I told him (al-Sharaa), ‘I hope you’re going to join when it’s straightened out.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do.”

The US President – who has pledged to lift US sanctions on Syria – also discussed the Russia-Ukraine war and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Mr al-Sharaa said there was a new opportunity for his country now that Iran had withdrawn following the fall of the Assad regime. He said there was a shared US and Syrian interest in countering terrorism and eliminating chemical weapons.

Mr al-Sharaa expressed hope that Syria could serve as a critical link in facilitating trade between east and west, and invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas.

Following the meeting in Riyadh, Mr Trump flew to Qatar with Air Force One being escorted by Qatari jets. During the flight, the US President said Russian leader Vladimir Putin wanted him to attend meetings on Thursday in Turkey where Russian officials are due to meet with Ukrainian counterparts for the first face-to-face talks in more than three years.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) greeting Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa as US President Donald Trump looks on. Picture: Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP

“I don’t know if he (Putin) is showing up. I know he would like me to be there,” Mr Trump said. “And that’s a possibility … I’ve been thinking about that. Now tomorrow, we’re all booked out – you understand that. We’re going to UAE tomorrow. So we have a very full situation. Now that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do it to save a lot of lives and come back. But yeah, I’ve been thinking about it. I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there. We’re going to find out.”

After touching down, Mr Trump met with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani – the Emir of Qatar – and was greeted as a “man of peace.”

“I know that you want to bring peace to this region. I hope that this time we can do the right thing and bring peace here in the region,” the Emir said.

Mr Trump said he appreciated the co-operation of Qatar, including in relation to Russia and Ukraine. “We’ll bring peace, not only here, but I know you’re very much involved in helping us in other regions like what’s happening with Russia-Ukraine,” the US President said. “And I think we’re having some pretty good news coming out of there today and maybe tomorrow and maybe Friday frankly. But we’ll see about that.”

The pair signed several agreements, with the Qatari leader saying that “we are going to another level of relationship between Qatar and the United States.”

A statement from the White House said the two leaders had agreed to an “economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion” and that Mr Trump announced economic deals “totalling more than $243.5bn between the United States and Qatar, including a historic sale of Boeing aircraft and GE Aerospace engines to Qatar Airways.”

It said that Qatar Airways had entered into a $96bn agreement to buy up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft, with the White House saying it was Boeing’s “largest-ever widebody order.”

A series of other deals were also unveiled including US based quantum computing company, Quantinuum, entering into a joint venture with Al Rabban Capital, a Qatari company, to invest up to $1bn in state-of-the-art quantum technologies and workforce development in the United States.