Syrian president arrives in Ankara for talks with Trump

ANKARA: 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.

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.

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

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”.

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

“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.

“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.”

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

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

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

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.

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