President <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> met with the new president of <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria</a>, <a href="/topics/ahmad-al-sharaa/">Ahmad al-Sharaa</a>, one day after announcing that the U.S. would lift sanctions that have crippled the country’s economy.

The two leaders spoke for about half an hour in Riyadh, <a href="/topics/saudi-arabia/">Saudi Arabia</a>, before Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump’s</a> summit with officials from six Arab countries.&nbsp;

Speaking at the summit, Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> said ceasing sanctions on <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria</a> was the right thing to do.

“I felt very strongly that this would give them a chance,” he said. “Gives them a good, strong chance. It was my honor to do so.”&nbsp;

“We are currently exploring normalizing with <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria’s</a> new government,” Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> continued.

Syrian sanctions were imposed by the U.S. and other nations because of the previous Syrian regime’s human rights abuses and support for terrorism, including the use of chemical weapons, torture and indiscriminate detention.

<strong> <a href="/news/2025/may/13/trump-saudi-arabia-heralds-big-plans-middle-east/" target="_blank"> SEE ALSO: Trump in Saudi Arabia heralds big plans for the Middle East </a></strong>

Since the overthrow of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December, ending a 13-year civil war, the sanctions that restrict trade and financial transactions have hobbled the new government’s efforts to rebuild the country. The lifting of the sanctions has had broad support spanning from the Middle East to the U.S., including bipartisan support in Congress.

Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> made the surprise announcement on Tuesday that he was ordering the end of sanctions on <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria</a>.

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The meeting Wednesday was the first between U.S. and Syrian presidents in 25 years. The last meeting was when President Clinton met with Syrian President Hafez Assad in Geneva in May 2000.&nbsp;

Photos posted on Saudi state television showed the two men shaking hands in the presence of <a href="/topics/saudi-arabia/">Saudi Arabia’s</a> Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a strong sign that diplomatic attitudes toward <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria</a> are changing.&nbsp;

Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> urged Mr. <a href="/topics/ahmad-al-sharaa/">al-Sharaa</a> to join the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, which normalized relations with Israel under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X.&nbsp;

Ms. Leavitt said the president told Mr. <a href="/topics/ahmad-al-sharaa/">al-Sharaa</a> that “he has a tremendous opportunity to do something historic in his country” after Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> announced he was lifting sanctions that have devastated <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria’s</a> war-torn economy for years.&nbsp;

<strong> <a href="/news/2025/may/13/trump-shifts-us-foreign-policy-gulf-region-focus-investment-business/" target="_blank"> SEE ALSO: Trump shifts U.S. foreign policy in Gulf region to focus on investment, business deals </a></strong>

The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> has hailed the agreement as one of his biggest foreign policy accomplishments.&nbsp;

Ms. Leavitt also said that Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> urged Mr. <a href="/topics/ahmad-al-sharaa/">al-Sharaa</a> to “tell all foreign terrorists to leave <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria</a>, “deport Palestinian terrorists,” “help the United States prevent the resurgence” of the Islamic State and “assume all responsibility for ISIS detention centers in Northeast Syria.&nbsp;

Mr. <a href="/topics/ahmad-al-sharaa/">al-Sharaa</a>, she said, &nbsp;invited U.S. companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas and told Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> that he hopes <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria</a> can serve as a trade link between the East and West.

A Syrian readout of the meeting did not mention that Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> urged the new government to normalize relations with Israel, which has pummeled <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria</a> with airstrikes and carved out a buffer zone since the fall of the Assad regime, which resulted in Mr. <a href="/topics/ahmad-al-sharaa/">al-Sharaa</a> taking power. Instead, the Syrian readout focused on lifting sanctions and details ways in which the two countries could work together to combat terrorism.

The meeting comes just hours after Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> announced he would end sanctions against <a href="/topics/syria/">Syria</a> to “give them a chance at greatness.” On Wednesday, Mr. <a href="/topics/donald-trump/">Trump</a> said the announcement generated the biggest applause of his speech at an investor’s conference in <a href="/topics/saudi-arabia/">Saudi Arabia</a>.

• Kerry Picket contributed to this report.

 <p style="font-size: 18px; color: #3e3e3e;"><em>• Jeff Mordock can be reached at <a href="mailto:jmordock@washingtontimes.com">jmordock@washingtontimes.com</a>.</em></p> 

President Trump met with the new president of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, one day after announcing that the U.S. would lift sanctions that have crippled the country’s economy.{ai:summary}<p>President Trump met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh, discussing the lifting of U.S. sanctions that have hindered Syria's economy since the civil war. Trump emphasized that this move would provide Syria with a chance to rebuild and normalize relations.</p><p>The meeting marked the first between U.S. and Syrian leaders in 25 years, with Trump urging al-Sharaa to combat terrorism and invite U.S. investment in Syrian resources. The lifting of sanctions has garnered bipartisan support in Congress and is seen as a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy towards Syria. #foreignaffairs</p>