In a stunning diplomatic shift, U.S. President Donald Trump met on Wednesday with Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, during a high-profile visit to Riyadh, a meeting unimaginable just months ago.
The encounter, lasting 37 minutes, marks the first formal engagement between the U.S. and Syria since Sharaa’s forces ended the decades-long Assad family rule. Once a jihadist fighter linked to Al-Qaeda, Sharaa now leads a transitional government attempting to gain global legitimacy.
“I think he’s got the potential,” Trump remarked after their meeting in a Saudi royal palace, where Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sat alongside them, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joined via phone.
Sharaa, previously head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS); a group formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda severed ties with the terror network in 2016. His $10 million U.S. bounty was lifted only last December.
Despite HTS still being listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., UK, and UN, Trump described Sharaa as a “tough guy with a strong past.”
At a U.S.-Saudi investment summit on Tuesday night, Trump announced a dramatic reversal of policy, pledging to begin lifting American sanctions on Syria — a move that drew a standing ovation.
The decision, reportedly influenced by Saudi and Turkish leaders, has been welcomed by Syria’s interim administration. Hind Kabawat, Syria’s minister of social affairs and labor, called the move “a new light at the end of the tunnel,” citing economic devastation and severe poverty as reasons for long-sought relief.
Syria, with 90% of its population living below the poverty line after over a decade of war, may now see improved access to international financial systems, renewed foreign investment, and an increase in humanitarian aid.
While some sanctions can be lifted through presidential waivers, analysts warn that unraveling the full network of restrictions will be complex.
“Lifting multi-layered sanctions won’t be easy,” said Dina Esfandiary of Bloomberg Economics. “It will require real and sustained commitment from Washington.”
Trump’s move also carries strategic expectations. At the top of the U.S. administration’s agenda is Syria’s potential entry into the Abraham Accords — a U.S.-brokered initiative to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states.
Sharaa has already signaled openness to regional engagement. Last month, he reportedly told visiting U.S. Congressman Cory Mills that Syria could consider normalization with Israel under “the right conditions.”
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains wary. Israeli media report that Netanyahu urged Trump not to ease sanctions, citing ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Syrian military targets allegedly tied to Iranian proxies or foreign fighters.
While skepticism persists — particularly over Sharaa’s past and the presence of extremist elements in Syria — many Syrians view the diplomatic breakthrough as a rare cause for optimism.
“We were the North Korea of the Middle East,” said one hotel clerk in Damascus, recalling daily shortages of basic goods.
Now, with international doors creaking open and the promise of economic reintegration, millions hope this signals the start of a long-awaited recovery.a
