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In a historic moment for Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa was welcomed by U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. Sharaa was accompanied by Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Shaybani and Syria’s Envoy to the United Nations Ibrahim Olabi.
On the American side, the high-level meeting included Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack. Unexpectedly, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also joined, at least for part of the meeting.
The presence of Fidan in the White House was both unannounced and unexpected. According to Fidan’s later statement to Turkish state media, at some point during the Trump–Shara meeting, he was invited to join. He later participated in a trilateral meeting with Shaybani, Rubio, and Witkoff.
Later on, Vice President Vance also joined. Once the trilateral session concluded, Rubio, Shaybani, and Vance departed, and Fidan began a separate meeting with Barrack and Witkoff focused on Gaza and Ukraine.
Fidan’s presence in the White House at the same time as the historic Trump–Shara meeting was no coincidence. It reflects the Trump administration’s approach to Syria and sends a clear message to the region—especially to Israel.
Trump views Türkiye as a strategic ally in Syria and intends to work with and through Türkiye in managing the Syrian file. For Trump, Syria’s future is closely tied to Ankara’s role and influence.
Even after the summit, Trump did not miss the opportunity to praise Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again.
For Syria, this alignment presents an exceptional protection. Thanks to Trump’s strong relationship with Erdogan, Israeli attempts to obstruct Syria’s rehabilitation and reintegration into the international community failed to gain American support.
As is well known, American policy operates on two levels: the bureaucracy and Trump himself. Syria, aided by the Syrian-American diaspora, managed to win over the bureaucratic establishment.
However, it was Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who initially persuaded Trump.
Despite intense Israeli lobbying and efforts to influence U.S. policy, it was Erdogan who prevented Israel from swaying Trump into a U-turn.
Had Trump not committed to working with Türkiye in Syria, Israel might have succeeded in convincing him to alter his course on Syrian policy.
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