Trump To Meet Syrian Leader Ahmad al-Sharaa In Saudi Arabia, Hints At Turkey Detour
US President Donald Trump is on his three-nation visit to the Middle East this week. He announced a meeting in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of former leader Bashar Assad, reports news agency AP.
“The President agreed to say hello to the Syrian President while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow,” the White House said.
Trump has been weighing how to handle al-Sharaa ever since he took power in December.
As he prepared to leave Washington, the US president said that he is weighing removing the sanctions on the Syrian government.
“We may want to take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start,” said Trump, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged him to do so.
According to the news agency, Trump received a warm welcome in Saudi Arabia from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he stepped off his Air Force One in the Saudi capital. “I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said later. The pair signed a host of economic and bilateral cooperation agreements.
The report mentions that the presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to meet in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday to discuss ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. Trump suggested that he could make a detour to Turkey if he thinks that his presence might be helpful.
According to news agency AP, Qatar has planned to gift Trump a plane. On Monday, the US president said that he is ready to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar, and U.S. officials say it could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft.
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