Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa seeks a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump while he is traveling this week in the Middle East to ease sanctions and improve relations.
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, now refers to himself by his birth name as Ahmed al-Sharaa (Muhammad al-Jawlani). He was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Syrian militant group that evolved from the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Jolani and HTS now control Syria, including the capital city, Damascus.
Al-Jolani has been working to persuade the international media and foreign powers that he has transitioned from a terrorist commander to a statesman, but skepticism remains about whether such a transformation is genuine.
Al-Sharaa is set on meeting with President Donald Trump this week as he starts his Mideast trip in Saudi Arabia.
The Syrian leader is ready to propose to Trump, a Trump Tower in Damascus, a detente with Israel and U.S. access to Syria’s oil and gas.
Prior to his trip to the Middle East President Trump told reporters, “We’re going to have to make a decision on the sanctions … We may take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start.”
Trump is making stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week.
