Syrian president arrives in Ankara for talks with Trump

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Ahmed al-Sharaa

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Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, where he was due to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

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The summit of the military alliance, which closes on Wednesday, has brought together 36 heads of state, as well as several representatives from Gulf countries.

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Al-Sharaa was invited by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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Trump, who has flaunted his closeness to Erdogan, described his Syrian counterpart — a former jihadist fighter who came to power after toppling President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 — as “tough”.

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“Because of the president (Erdogan), we have a very good relationship with Syria’s new leader,” the US leader told reporters on Tuesday.

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“He’s done an amazing job in a year and a half, he’s pulled the whole country together. And I have a very, very good relationship with him.

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“Somebody said, well, he’s pretty tough… I approved him along with the president (Erdogan) We were the two that really wanted him. And he’s done a great job, he’s pulled it together. Not an easy job.”

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Thirteen years of war have devastated Syria, which needs international support to rebuild and still faces numerous threats.

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On Tuesday, 18 people were wounded in two bomb attacks in Damascus, near a hotel where visiting French President Emmanuel Macron was staying.

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Sharaa visited Washington in November last year seeking financial support for Syria.

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But last month, he refused calls from Trump to intervene militarily in neighbouring Lebanon against the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah, which is in open conflict with Israel.

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“We are looking for economic channels between Lebanon and Syria, not military ones,” he said in an interview last month.

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AFP

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