Of all the official orders that Donald Trump had in Saudi Arabia, the US President’s meeting with the temporary President of Syria Ahmad Al-Sharaa on Wednesday was the most important, which could potentially transform the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East and further.
Before the meeting, Trump shook his hands with Al-Sharaa, and in 25 years he became the first American president to meet the Syrian leader. The meeting meant historical melting in relations in the US-Syria after Trump’s earlier announcement of raising the paralyzing sanctions stored during the former Assad regime.
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Trump described Al-Sharaa as a “hard guy” and “a warrior with a strong past”.
“You have a huge opportunity to do something historic,” Trump said al-sharaa and urged him to reform Syria and normalize links with Israel.
Pictures and videos from a short but significant conversation in the rich Saudi royal palace showed some initial embarrassment when they spoke via a translator. Next to them was a bright Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined them by phone, BBC informed.
Press Secretary of the White House Karoline Leitt shared a picture of the X meeting.
Controversial past
Netizens were left confused soon after the visual elements of “unthinkable” meetings began to make bicycles on social media. But why? Because of the controversial past Al-Sharaa.
Until recently, Al-Sharaa was known for his nom de Guerre Abu Moammad al-Jawlani (sometimes speaking al-Golana or al-Joulai). Only a few months ago he was known all over the world as a non -written and American terrorist. His Islamist Group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) was an associated al-Qaedy company in Syria until it interrupted ties in 2016.
“Imagine someone in 2014 – when MBS (Saudi -crown prince) was barely known nephew of the Saudi King, Trump was a disciple and Al Sharaa was the leader of Al -Kaidy – told you that this photo would be in 2025,” wrote Thomas Juneau professor of Ottawa Postgraduate.
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According to the “ISIS and Al-Qaed Committee” Committee “in July 2013, Al-Jawlani was declared a global terrorist in July 2013 for” participation in financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or committing terrorism “.
“Trump more entrepreneur than a statesman”
“Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known for his nom de Guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is the current president of Syria. Trump has met him in Saudi, and again proves he is more entrepreneur than a statesman,” wrote a user who shares an old picture of $ 10 million.
Jawlani was also kept guilty for “supply, sale or transfer of weapons” and “recruitment for” al-Qaeda and ISIS, according to the committee, and also coordinated directly with the then head of Al-Qaeda Aiman al-Zawahiri and later with the Chief of ISIS Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Syria fee since December
However, Jawlani suddenly gained importance as a Syrian rebel al-Sharaa in December 2024, when he was credited for strategic movements that ended the long-drawn Syrian civil war and overthrew the Assad regime in less than two weeks.
8 December Al-Sharaa welcomed the capture of the Syrian capital Damascus from Assad’s control as a “historical” victory. His speech in the Damack Damascus mosque after the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad fled from the country that ended the 50-year regime, became the matter in the region and outdoors
“This victory, my brothers, is historical for the region,” said Jawlani, who then began using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a speech in the historical UMayyad mosque.
The Assad government dropped more than 13 years after the intervention against the protests against the government ignited the brutal civil war of Syria, which attracted foreign powers and required more than half a million lives.
Soon the Western media began to refer to Al Sharaa as a former extremist who accepted a milder posture to achieve its goals. The analysts attributed his changed garment to “his moderation in ideology”. The boss of HTS then stopped sports Turban, which was worn by Islamic preachers and instead was often seen in military costumes.
The UMayyad 8 Mosque. During his meeting with President Trump on Wednesday, Al Sharaa had a western business suit.
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“At the end of this tunnel it’s a new light,” said BBC Hind Kabawat, Minister of Social Affairs and work in the Provisional Government.
Al Sharaa – active from a teenage
Jawlani was born in Saudi Arabia and later moved to Damascus, the capital of Syria. His grandfather lived in the Golalan Heights region, in the region between Israel and Syria. Golan Heights was part of Syria to the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Since then, Israel has dominated about three quarters of the region.
Jawlani has been politically active since adolescents. In one interview he recently said that he was 17 at the time of the second Intifada – a Palestinian uprising against Israel – in 2000. “At a time when I began to think about how I could fulfill my duties, people who are oppressed by occupiers and attackers,” Jawlani said.
When the US sent their strength to Iraq in 2003, Jawlani arrived in Baghdad to join the uprising. In 2013, the US Foreign Ministry He described it as a specially designated global terrorist.
The main shift in American policy
Before the meeting, Al-Sharaa President Trump announced that he would raise all sanctions stored by Syria, which have been introduced since 1979.
The sanctions were deposited on Syria and the Assad regime in 1979 after the country was described as a “state sponsor of terrorism” as providing “political and military support to various terrorist groups”.
Trump said that sanctions have served an important function and that it is time for Syria to move forward.
“I will order a stop Sanction against Syria to give them a chance of size, ”Trump said on Tuesday in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the first three -day visit to the Middle East, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump’s last move is the main shift in American politics. The US declared Syria a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979, leading to the embargo of weapons and financial restrictions, including foreign aid.
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The US also announced a $ 10 million remuneration for captivity Al-Sharaa and said that Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, an organization he operated before her dissolution with the fall of Al-Assad, as a “foreign terrorist organization”.
You have a huge opportunity to do something historic.
However, the United States has removed $ 10 million reward On the head of Al Sharaa in December 2024.
Syria is for all Syrians, Al Sharaa said after meeting with President Trump at the nation. “The way in front of us is long, today it refers to the beginning of serious work.”
(Tagstotranslate) Trump Meeting Syria (T) Ahmad al-Sharaa
