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The Syrian president was invited by Türkiye to attend the NATO summit on the sidelines and like Zelenskyy from Ukraine, he met with the US president Donald Trump.
For Ahmad al-Sharaa and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this meeting marks an end to a difficult but successful story. For the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, it marks a major foreign policy failure.
When Ahmad al-Sharaa toppled the Assad regime, he faced a herculean task. He himself was on the terrorism list and Syria was under heavy sanctions only behind Russia and Iran.
A year and half later, Trump just announced that he will lift the state sponsor of terrorism designation of Syria. As I wrote in an earlier column of mine, the Syrian side’s top priority was the removal of this designation. When Trump first announced he was going to lift sanctions on Syria, he was in Riyadh and had his first meeting with Sharaa to which Erdogan joined via teleconference.
Now, as a symbolic gesture, he announced the lifting of the last sanction in Ankara. This symbolism showcased the impact of the joint Turkish-Saudi efforts on Syria.
But beyond Trump, Sharaa also met with several American Senators who are heavyweights in influencing US foreign policy. At the end of the day, the Senate will play the leading role in lifting the designation.
Sharaa’s meeting with the Senators, after many of them called for the lifting of the designation, will guarantee progress in Washington D.C. Many expect that the designation will be lifted in the near future.
The removal of the last sanctions against Syria is a major step, but for Syria’s security the Israeli angle may be more important. In recent weeks, Israeli government officials stepped up their rhetoric, and the Israeli army accelerated their aggressions against Syria.
In response, Sharaa gave his harshest public speech against Syria since his presidency. Upon this, the US president undermined the Israeli position on Syria in every instance possible.
Sitting next to Erdogan, he stated that he and Erdogan approved Sharaa in Damascus. He met Sharaa.
Furthermore, a day before, the French president publicly rejected the Israeli occupation of Syrian territory and supported Syria’s sovereignty.
If one sees the diplomacy around Syria’s integration into the international system and the international legitimacy of the new Syrian government as a diplomatic power play, Erdogan, Sharaa, and Trump walked over Netanyahu.
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