Donald Trump, President of the United States, met with Ahmad Shar’a, the interim president of Syria, in the city of Riyadh on Wednesday during his trip to the Middle East. This is the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries in 25 years.
The White House announced on Wednesday that President Donald Trump met with Ahmad Shar’a, the interim president of Syria, in Saudi Arabia.
Officials stated that the meeting took place on the sidelines of a major summit of Gulf Arab leaders during Trump’s Middle East trip.
Prior to the meeting, Trump declared that all sanctions imposed on Syria would be lifted.
During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Trump said, “I will issue an order to end the sanctions on Syria to give them a big opportunity.”
After the announcement on Tuesday that Trump intended to meet with Ahmad Shar’a and lift sanctions on Syria, people in various Syrian cities took to the streets in celebration and launched fireworks.
This meeting has also drawn significant attention due to the fact that Ahmad Shar’a, known by his nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Julani, had ties to al-Qaeda and had joined insurgents fighting American forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian conflict.
Ahmad Shar’a, who had previously been listed as a terrorist by the United States, announced in 2016 that he had severed ties with al-Qaeda.
During this trip, Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its earlier promise to make major investments in the United States in the coming years.
The White House announced that Saudi Arabia plans to invest $600 billion in the United States, including a massive $142 billion arms deal.
Trump welcomed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s $600 billion investment pledge, though he jokingly remarked that the investment should have been one trillion dollars.
As part of his broader Middle East trip, Trump will also visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.