President Donald Trump called on Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa to sign the Abraham Accords, a move that would recognize Israel’s sovereignty and promote stability in the Middle East.
The United States urged Syria to take the historic step of recognizing Israel’s statehood during a meeting between Trump and Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the second day of Trump’s trip to the Middle East. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was also present, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined remotely.
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“I’ve seen such progress,” Trump said after the meeting, which marked the first such encounter between the leaders of the U.S. and Syria in 25 years. “The whole world is watching the Middle East.”
The Abraham Accords are historic bilateral agreements establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and two Arab nations, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in 2020. The accords marked the first time Israel had normalized relations with an Arab country since a 1994 peace treaty with Jordan. Trump negotiated the accords, which marked a critical step toward Arab-Israeli normalization, during his first term in office. In addition to Syria, Trump has pushed for Saudi Arabia to sign the accords, saying this week he believed the country would do so in its own time.
In addition to pushing Sharaa to normalize ties with Israel, Trump urged him to help the U.S. prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State, assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in northeastern Syria, and deport Palestinian terrorists, according to the White House.
Sharaa recognized “shared U.S.-Syrian interests in countering terrorism and eliminating chemical weapons,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump’s campaign to expand the Abraham Accords comes after Bashar Assad was ousted as Syria’s president in December. The fall of Assad, who was known to weaponize brutal chemical attacks against his citizens, marked the dawn of another era of Syrian politics and a new opportunity for Sharaa to pursue a relationship with Israel, a longtime foe.
The U.S. had imposed sanctions on Syria for years under the Assad regime. Trump lifted them on Tuesday, announcing he wanted to give the country a “fresh start” with Sharaa at the helm. Trump also revealed he is looking to normalize relations with Syria to “give them a chance at greatness” despite reported requests from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to do so.
“I felt very strongly that this would give them a chance,” Trump told reporters after he announced the end of the “really crippling [and] very powerful” sanctions at an investment forum. “Gives them a good, strong chance … it was my honor to do so.”
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Trump lifted the sanctions with the support of Saudi Arabia. Regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, the crown prince told Trump that Arab Gulf states were seeking to work with the U.S. to de-escalate tensions in the region.
During Trump’s Middle Eastern trip, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia signed a $142 billion arms deal, which the White House touted as the “largest defense sales agreement in history.” Saudi Arabia pledged a $600 billion investment in the U.S.