Al-Sharaa is the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000. Syrians cheered the announcement by Trump that the U.S. will move to lift sanctions on the beleaguered Middle Eastern nation.

Trump has reportedly agreed to “say hello” to Sharaa, the rebel leader who led an armed uprising in 2024 to topple Bashar al-Assad’s government, forcing him to flee to Russia. The US president will be

President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the first meeting between nations' leaders in 25 years.

Trump was set to meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of former leader Bashar Assad. He said the effort at rapprochement came at the urging of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A short statement released by the office of President Ahmad al-Sharaa did not give a reason why he will not attend the summit but an invitation by the Iraqi government last month trigged sharp political divisions in Iraq. The summit is scheduled to be held in Baghdad on Saturday.

Ahmad al-Sharaa has ties to al Qaida and joined insurgents battling US forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war.

President Donald Trump will meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of the Mideast nation's longtime autocrat Bashar Assad on Wednesday, a day after announcing his plan to ease sanctions on the country and normalize relations with its new government.

Israel has used attacks on religious minority by forces loyal to Syria's new government to justify strikes across the border