Trump Met Syria’s New President For The First Time And Called Him An "Attractive Guy, A Tough Guy”

After US president Donald Trump lifted the US sanctions on Syria, he met with Syria’s new president Ahmed al-Sharaa and said he is an “attractive guy” who has a “real shot” at holding the country together.

On May 13, Trump announced that the US would lift its sanctions that have been put on Syria for over a decade to isolate the Syrian regime under former president Bashar al-Assad and restrict its economic and military capabilities.

The sanctions had designated Syria as a "State Sponsor of Terrorism" since 1979 and included arms embargoes, financial restrictions, freezing Syrian government assets overseas, banning US investments and oil imports to Syria sanctioning individuals and entities linked to the regime.

Trump met Sharaa in Saudi Arabia during his four-day visit to the Middle East to discuss Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Syria’s new government and possibly sign a minerals deal.

This is the first meeting between a US and a Syrian president in 25 years, marking a historic milestone for Syria since its liberation in December 2024.

Trump told reporters after the meeting that Sharaa is an “attractive guy” with a “very strong past, a fighter.”

Before becoming Syria’s new president, Sharaa had led the Islamist Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group, previously linked to al-Qaeda, under his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani and led the offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024.

“He’s got a real shot at holding it together,” Trump said. “He’s a real leader. He led a charge, and he’s pretty amazing.”

Trump said that Syria is also willing to normalize ties with Israel and eventually recognize Israel after becoming more stable and that it might join the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements mediated by the US and signed in 2020 that normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries, including the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, but syria hasn’t confirmed that, according to AP.

The meeting between the two leaders marks a turning point for Syria, giving Syrians a “fresh start,” hope and a chance for economic recovery after years of sanctions and isolation.

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