President Donald Trump urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords during a high-stakes meeting in Riyadh on May 14, just one day after lifting all U.S. sanctions on Syria. The unexpected bilateral meeting took place on the sidelines of the Gulf Cooperation Council summit, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joining virtually and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman present in person.
The White House confirmed that Trump asked Syria to formally recognize Israel, expel Palestinian terrorists, assist in countering ISIS, and take responsibility for Islamic State detention centers in northeastern Syria. The requests mark a dramatic shift in U.S.-Syria relations after decades of sanctions.
Trump defended his decision to lift the sanctions, declaring it a move to give Syria “a good, strong chance.” He told Gulf leaders, “We were convinced that this would give them a chance. It won’t be easy anyway, so this gives them a good, strong chance, and I was honored to do it.”
The Abraham Accords, brokered by Trump’s administration in 2020, initially normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with Morocco and Sudan joining later. Trump now hopes Syria will be the next Arab state to follow suit.
Al-Sharaa, 42, is a former jihadist and leader of the al-Sharaa, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who broke from Al Qaeda leadership in 2016 and now leads Syria’s post-Assad Islamist coalition. HTS is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., European Union, and United Nations. Trump’s call for normalization comes as Syria attempts to rebrand itself after more than a decade of civil war.
The visit to Riyadh also came on the heels of a $600 billion investment deal with Saudi Arabia, covering defense, energy, AI, and infrastructure. Trump praised Gulf governments for their cooperation and criticized Western diplomacy as “interventionist.”
Despite the positive tone in Riyadh, skepticism remains in Washington. Some lawmakers question Trump’s engagement with a former extremist and his openness to alleged foreign gifts from Gulf leaders. Others point to concern over recent attacks against Alawite, Christian, and Druze minorities in Syria by extremist militants allegedly connected to government security forces and HTS affiliates.
Still, Trump remained confident about his Middle East strategy, reaffirming his trademark belief: “This gives them a chance to flourish. The sanctions were truly paralyzing.”
