US president Donald Trump’s meeting at the White House on Monday with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa was remarkable for a number of reasons.
It was the first summit between a US and Syrian leader at the White House since 1946 and marks a turnaround in US-Syrian relations after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, who prosecuted a deadly Civil War in the country from 2011 until his forces collapsed in December 2024.
Sharaa is a former al Qaeda commander who, until recently, was sanctioned by Washington as a foreign terrorist.
So, why is Trump reaching out to Syria?
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Warmer relations with Syria are essential if the US is to draw Syria’s army into the 89-member Coalition battling Islamic State remnants roaming the desert between Syria and Iraq.
On a regional level, the meeting has also helped align Syria with the US and the West. This has brought Syria in from the Russia-Iran cold and encouraged Syria to stabilise security arrangements with Israel which has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967.
[ US president Donald Trump meets Syrian leader al-Sharaa at White HouseOpens in new window ]
Damascus insists on a permanent arrangement over the Golan as the price of peace, although it is reported that Syria does not insist on the full return of the strategic territory to Syria.
The US is, reportedly, prepared to establish a first ever US military presence in Syria at an airbase near Damascus to help enforce an agreement.
However, Israel has formally annexed the territory and rejected ceding any part of the Golan where there are 31,000 Israeli settlers living among 24,000 Syrian Druze.
Consequently, Sharaa’s efforts to ease tensions with Israel and prevent bombings at Syrian military posts and incursions have failed.
Warming relations with the US could provide some protection from Israel.
Trump also sees that building Syria’s economy under the Sharaa Government could contribute to regional stability. The US Treasury said in a statement that it “will support Syria’s efforts to rebuild its economy, provide prosperity for all its citizens, including its ethnic and religious minorities, and combat terrorism.”
Sanctions imposed by the Caesar Act during Assad’s rule were waived to help Syria attract external investment and achieve economic advancement. Some 90 per cent of Syrians now live below the poverty line although the figure was 33 per cent before unrest erupted in 2011.
Despite the uncertain economic situation, a million Syrians have reportedly returned home in recent months.
The administration is urging Congress to permanently repeal the sanctions regime unconditionally.
This could enable Syria to access billions in reconstruction finance from institutions and private investors, notably wealthy Syrians living abroad. The World Bank has estimated the cost of reconstruction at over $200 billion.
Trump said: “We’ll do everything we can to make Syria successful, because that’s part of the Middle East. We have peace now in the Middle East – the first time that anyone can remember that ever happening.”
