Riiyadh, May 15 – US President Donald Trump has ordered the end of all US sanctions imposed on Syria. Trump said that this decision will give Syria a chance to progress again.
On Tuesday, the day after this order, Trump met Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. Trump’s meeting with al-Shara, who was once a top most wanted terrorist, is being discussed all over the world.
Ahmed al-Shara had carried out several suicide attacks in Syria in 2011. The US had placed a bounty of $10 million on him, which was removed 5 months ago in December.
Ahmed al-Shara was earlier known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Julani left his medical studies in 2003 and came in contact with al Qaeda leaders. He was arrested by the US Army in 2006 and sent to jail. After being released from jail, al-Shara formed al Qaeda’s Syrian branch Jabhat al-Nusra in 2012.
In 2016, he broke away from Al Qaeda and founded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Julani took power after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. After this the world came to know his real name.
Trump said- kick out foreign terrorists from the country, Al-Shara
Trump talked to Al-Shara for about 37 minutes during his meeting. This was the first time in 25 years that an American President met the Syrian President. Trump said about Al-Shara that he is young and attractive.
Trump said that he has asked Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel and remove foreign terrorists from Syria. Al-Sharaa also praised Trump and said that he is capable of bringing peace to the Middle East.
The US Parliament enacted a law for strict sanctions on Syria in 2019. However, there was a provision in this law that the US President can remove these sanctions in view of national security.
Using this power, President Trump has lifted all the bans.
Trump said he made the decision after speaking with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, both countries who had openly supported lifting sanctions on Syria.
