US President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords normalizing relations with Israel, the White House said, as the two leaders met in Riyadh, in a first encounter between leaders of the countries in 25 years.
Trump also asked Sharaa to “deport Palestinian terrorists” and tell foreign fighters to leave the country, as well as to take control of camps for captured ISIS fighters, currently run by Kurdish militants opposed by Turkey, the White House said.
The meeting in Saudi Arabia came after Trump’s announcement that he would lift sanctions on Syria and move to restore ties with its new leader — a move that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was reported on Wednesday, had requested Trump not make, when the premier was in Washington last month.
Syria’s foreign ministry hailed the longer-than-expected half-hour meeting as “historic,” but did not mention the Abraham Accords. Syrian state media also did not mention normalization.
The meeting came amid Trump’s four-day Mideast trip, which was also set to include stops in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, but not Israel.
Trump said Tuesday that it was his “dream” for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, but acknowledged that Riyadh would do so in its own time.
A US security source had previously confirmed the possibility of Damascus, too, joining the Abraham Accords, with the UAE as a mediator.
Sharaa confirmed last week that Abu Dhabi is already acting as an intermediary between Israel and Syria, which have no official relations.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and, by video, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended Trump’s Wednesday meeting with Sharaa, alongside other officials, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump said Tuesday that his decision to lift sanctions on Syria came at the Saudi and Turkish leaders’ urging.
Washington and Gulf countries are reportedly seeking to pull Syria away from Iranian influence. Tehran, sworn to Israel’s destruction, propped up the former Assad regime throughout the bloody Syrian civil war.
Turkey, meanwhile, has been growing its footprint in Syria, and backed rebel groups aligned with Sharaa during the civil war.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One after the meeting, Trump said the new Syrian leader, who created a formerly al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group, is “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”
“He’s got a real shot at holding it together,” Trump said, adding: “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.”
During Netanyahu’s visit to Washington last month, the premier requested Trump not lift US sanctions on Syria, an Israeli official told AP on Wednesday.
The official said the request was made out of concern that a cross-border attack similar to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault, could come from the country.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the request with the media.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Israel has cautioned against swift recognition of the new government in Syria, expressing deep skepticism about Sharaa — who until recently had a $10 million bounty on his head from the US — since his Islamist-led rebel coalition toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December.
Reuters reported in February that Israel — which has vowed to protect the Syrian Druze, whose coreligionists reside throughout northern Israel — has lobbied the US to keep Syria decentralized and isolated.
Meanwhile, Israeli military operations in Syria have persisted since Assad’s ouster, with Israel bombing what it says are military targets across the country and ground forces currently stationed in a number of outposts near the border with the Golan Heights.
Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.