In a move as audacious as it is bewildering, Donald Trump this morning met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the self-styled interim president of Syria, during a surprise encounter in Riyadh.
The meeting comes hot on the heels of Trump’s sudden decision to lift US sanctions on Syria — a country that, until December, had the dubious distinction of being led by a man for whom Washington had offered a $10 million reward. “Give them a chance at greatness,” Trump told reporters at the opulent Ritz-Carlton Hotel, sounding more like a real estate mogul pitching beachfront property than a statesman navigating the tangled wreckage of Middle Eastern politics. “They’ve been through a lot — terrible leadership, disaster after disaster. Maybe this is their shot.”
Until recently, that “terrible leadership” included none other than Mr al-Sharaa himself. He emerged from the shadows late last year, styling himself as the transitional head of a “post-Assad” Syria after the collapse of the Damascus regime’s hold on large swathes of territory. Though few outside of parts of northern Syria and Western intelligence services could reliably identify him, al-Sharaa is now dining with kings — or at least, with a man who used to play one on television.
The turnabout in American policy is dizzying. In December, the State Department was still offering a multimillion-dollar bounty for al-Sharaa, citing his alleged ties to armed groups during the Syrian civil war. Now, Trump is hailing him as a “visionary leader.”
The rationale for lifting the sanctions is, in classic Trumpian fashion, a mix of brash optimism and calculated spectacle. “The sanctions weren’t working,” Trump claimed. “We tried the tough guy approach. Didn’t work. Now we’re doing the smart guy approach — and everybody’s winning.”
Critics, of which there are legion in Washington and beyond, beg to differ. Former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford described the move as “an abandonment of decades of bipartisan foreign policy” and “a gift to Tehran and Moscow.”
Lina Sinjab, reporting from Damascus, notes that the decision has stunned observers in the region. “For months, al-Sharaa was effectively a fugitive,” she writes. “Now he’s being legitimised on the world stage — not just by any world leader, but by a former US president with a knack for turning pariahs into partners.”
The Syrian overture came as part of Trump’s whirlwind four-day tour of the Middle East, his first major diplomatic outing since announcing his intention to seek a third presidential term. Riyadh, always a favoured stop on Trump’s itinerary, rolled out the red carpet once more, hosting a ceremony yesterday in which Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a staggering $142 billion (£107bn) defence agreement.
The deal, one of the largest arms packages in modern history, includes advanced missile systems, drones, and F-35 components. Critics in Congress have already begun raising questions about oversight and the potential for American arms to exacerbate regional conflicts — especially in Yemen and, increasingly, in Syria.
Yet the mood in Riyadh is triumphalist. The Crown Prince praised Trump’s “bold leadership” and hailed the defence pact as “a cornerstone of regional security.” Whether the region agrees remains to be seen.
Following this morning’s tête-à-tête with al-Sharaa, Trump is set to continue his diplomatic carnival in Qatar. Doha, which has long played a mediating role between warring factions in the Middle East, is likely to offer a more restrained reception than Riyadh — though officials there remain quietly intrigued by Trump’s willingness to upend the status quo.
Qatari officials are expected to raise concerns over the pace and direction of Trump’s Syrian policy, particularly the implications of legitimising a figure like al-Sharaa without broader international consensus or a peace process.
Still, Trump appears undeterred. “We’re making deals. We’re making peace,” he declared, stepping into his convoy. “The old way didn’t work. This is the art of the deal — in real time.”
For all the gasps and headlines, Trump’s Middle East foray is vintage Trump: a blend of showmanship, disruption, and transactional diplomacy. But behind the theatrics lies a very real shift in the geopolitics of the region — and in America’s place within it.
Whether this gamble brings “greatness” to Syria, or simply further chaos, will depend not on Riyadh’s photo ops but on what comes after the cameras leave.
