US President Donald Trump met his Syrian counterpart Ahmad al-Chareh in Riyadh on Wednesday since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. This meeting, qualified as history, lasted almost thirty minutes in the presence of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salmane and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who participated virtually.
During this exchange, Trump invited Syria to join the Abraham agreements, which saw several Arab countries normalize their relations with Israel. He also demanded the expulsion of Palestinian armed groups from the Syrian territory, as well as the care of prisons where the members of Daesh are held, currently managed by the Kurdish forces, with which Turkey is in conflict.
This meeting comes in the aftermath of a spectacular decision: the lifting of American sanctions against Damascus, established since 1979 and reinforced after 2011. Trump justified this measure by saying wanting to “give a chance of greatness” to Syria, in a nod to its famous slogan.
Syrian diplomacy has welcomed this “decisive turning point”, while avoiding mentioning Israel in its official report. For its part, the White House insisted on the need for a clear commitment to Syria in favor of regional stability.
According to analysts, this lifting of sanctions opens the way to a return from Damascus to the regional scene, with the support of Gulf powers. Reconstruction projects are already envisaged, funded in part by Saudi and Emiratis investments.
Despite the reluctance of Israel, an ally close to the United States, Washington seems to bet on a strategic realignment in Syria. In addition to this initiative, Trump continues a regional tour focused on the signing of massive economic contracts, with $ 600 billion announced in Saudi Arabia.
