Trump urges Syria’s President Sharaa to join Abraham Accords, deport Palestinian terrorists in historic meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump met with Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday, the first time a U.S. President met with a Syrian president in 25 years.

While Israel has signaled its opposition to granting legitimacy to Syria's new government, Trump pointedly called Sharaa to make peace with the Jewish State and to deport Palestinian terrorists from his country.

The closed-doors meeting came before a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh, and Trump and Sharaa were joined by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A day earlier, Trump declared that U.S. sanctions on Syria, which were left over from the days of the Assad regime, would be lifted. He also mentioned that MBS and Erdogan had asked him for the move, adding this would give Syria “a chance at greatness.”

#فيديو_واس pic.twitter.com/Q96o540hxZ

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Erdogan praised Trump’s decision, and “committed to working alongside Saudi Arabia to encourage peace and prosperity in Syria.”

She added that MBS also commended Trump, calling the decision “courageous.”

Trump, said Leavitt, stressed that Sharaa now had a “tremendous opportunity to do something historic,” and urged him to: “Sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel; Tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria; Deport Palestinian terrorists; Help the United States to prevent the resurgence of ISIS; Assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in Northeast Syria.”

لقاء يجمع سمو #ولي_العهد والرئيس الأمريكي والرئيس السوري.#واس pic.twitter.com/2Xi9GCfEJj

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A regional US State Department spokesman, Michael Mitchell, told Sky News Arabia that the U.S. wants a new Syrian government that represents all Syrians regardless of religion and origin and acts responsibly without posing a danger to its neighbors.

Mitchell added the destruction of the remaining chemical weapons and the prevention of an ISIS reemergence were other important points in the talks.

According to Leavitt, Sharaa thanked Trump, MBS and Erdogan for organizing the meeting.

Sharaa “recognized the significant opportunity presented by the Iranians leaving Syria, as well as shared U.S.-Syrian interests in countering terrorism and eliminating chemical weapons,” she said.

כפי שהאיר ידידי @kaisos1987: פגישה ראשונה בין נשיאי ארה"ב וסוריה מזה 25 שנה, מאז הנשיא קלינטון פגש את אסד האב במצב סופני בז'נבה https://t.co/uwjWnRGD7M pic.twitter.com/wiRHUfJJ81

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In a crucial point for Israel, she noted that President Sharaa again “affirmed his commitment to the 1974 disengagement with Israel.”

“President al-Sharaa concluded with his hope that Syria would serve as a critical link in facilitating trade between east and west, and invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas,” she said, adding, “The Russia-Ukraine war and the war in Gaza was also discussed.”

The Trump-Sharaa meeting is a major turning point in U.S. policy toward Syria, which over the past decades served as a central cog in the Iranian proxy network under the brutal Assad regime.

سمو #ولي_العهد ورئيس الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية ورئيس الجمهورية السورية يعقدون لقاءً حول مستقبل الأوضاع في سوريا.https://t.co/31pVJ59Sdc #الرئيس_الأمريكي_في_المملكة | #واس pic.twitter.com/N2cz2AxDtm

— واس الأخبار الملكية (@spagov) May 14, 2025

Sharaa led a coalition of mostly Islamist and Jihadist groups, many of whom were designated terror groups, in overthrowing the Assad regime last December.

Since then, he has visited several regional countries, as well as France, in an effort to gain political recognition and support for the restoration of the war-torn country.

However, Israel has warned about his deep ties to international Jihadist terror groups, including stints in al-Qaeda and ISIS, before turning against them.

At the GCC meeting, Saudi Crown Prince MBS again praised the lifting of U.S. sanctions, telling Trump: “We are aware of the magnitude of the challenges facing our region and we strive with you and with our GCC brothers to deescalate tensions in the region and to stop the war in Gaza and to find a permanent and comprehensive solution for the Palestinian crisis.”

“We stress our support to ending conflicts through peaceful means,” he said.

In addition to MBS, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed al-Nahyan, Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa and Oman’s deputy prime minister were in attendance.

Bilateral trade between the U.S. and the GCC countries stood at over $180 billion in 2024.

Trump’s Middle East trip will continue in Qatar later on Wednesday, before flying to Abu Dhabi to meet the UAE’s leaders on Thursday.