RIYADH: US President Donald Trump requested Syria’s new chief on Wednesday (Might 14) to normalise relations with Israel after he supplied a serious increase to the war-ravaged nation by asserting the lifting of sanctions.
Trump, on a state go to to Riyadh, grew to become the primary US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader – Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile extremist guerrilla and onetime militant who had been on a US wished record and led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December.
The interim Syrian president and Trump, sporting matching fits, shook arms as they met collectively with Saudi Arabia’s de facto chief, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and, by video hyperlink, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the important thing supporter of the brand new authorities in Damascus.
Türkiye and Saudi Arabia had each advocated reconciliation with Syria however the transfer is the most recent to place Trump at odds with Israel, which has voiced pessimism over Sharaa and ramped up strikes to degrade the longtime adversary’s navy capabilities.
The White Home mentioned Trump requested the Syrian chief to normalise relations with Israel by becoming a member of the so-called Abraham Accords signed by some Gulf Arab states.
Trump additionally requested Sharaa to deport Palestinian militants and inform international fighters to go away the nation, in addition to to take management of camps for captured Islamic State group fighters, at present run by Kurdish militants opposed by Türkiye, the White Home mentioned.
Whereas aboard Air Drive One en path to Qatar, Trump poured reward on Sharaa, saying the assembly went “nice”.
He’s a “younger, engaging man. Robust man. Robust previous. Very robust previous. Fighter,” he advised reporters.