Latest news with #normalization

Adviser to UAE president warns of regional gridlock without strategic shifts

Arab News

7 days ago

Business
Arab News

Adviser to UAE president warns of regional gridlock without strategic shifts

DUBAI: Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, defended the country's foreign policy and addressed the Arab world's uncertain geopolitical landscape during a panel discussion at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai. 'How can you explain everything that is happening in the Arab world now?' asked Taher Baraka, presenter at Al Arabiya. Gargash responded with a single word: 'Uncertainty.' Elaborating on this theme, he pointed to the fragile resurgence of nations such as Syria and Lebanon as central to the region's current volatility. 'We have two Arab worlds,' he said. 'There is the GCC, and then there are Arab countries that are suffering.' Gargash emphasized the UAE's proactive foreign policy, which he described as essential to fostering stability and peace for the Emirati people. 'We know we have to address the problems in our region,' he said. 'Yes, there are challenges — but there is also significant potential.' He also addressed criticism surrounding the UAE's decision to normalize ties with Israel, a move that has sparked debate across the Arab world. 'Normalization is being used as a scare tactic,' he said. 'But it is a sovereign decision, and for us, it was the right choice.' Despite this stance, Gargash reaffirmed the UAE's enduring support for the Palestinian cause. 'Our commitment to the Palestinian people and their right to a state remains unchanged. Their suffering brings us real pain,' he said. Gargash argued that without normalization, the Arab world risks clinging to outdated strategies that perpetuate conflict and division. Using the metaphor of a 'bottleneck,' he described the political paralysis in Syria and Lebanon, where armed militias continue to undermine national sovereignty. 'We cannot have two armies in one country,' he said. 'We need realistic priorities.' Gargash highlighted the UAE's role in supporting crisis-hit nations, pointing to the large Lebanese and Syrian diasporas in the Emirates. 'The UAE has been the breathing lungs for Lebanon and Syria during the height of their crises. Many of their citizens came here and thrived. If they can innovate here, they can innovate in Lebanon or Syria,' he said.

‘Now my kids have a future': Syrians dare to dream again after years as a pariah state

The Guardian

16-05-2025

Politics
The Guardian

‘Now my kids have a future': Syrians dare to dream again after years as a pariah state

In 2006, Ahmed al-Sharaa was sitting in a US prison in Iraq, then an al-Qaida fighter waging jihad against what he viewed as an American occupation of the Middle East. Nearly two decades later, on Wednesday, he posed for a photo with the US president Donald Trump in Riyadh after discussing normalising ties with Israel and granting US access to Syrian oil. The transformation of Sharaa over the last 20 years from al-Qaida fighter to the president of Syria, sharing the world's stage with foreign leaders like Trump, is staggering. For Syrians, the pace of change has been whiplash-inducing. In just six months after the toppling of former president Bashar al-Assad, Syria has gone from a global pariah under some of the world's most intense sanctions regimes to a country of promise. On Tuesday, Trump announced he would end all US sanctions on Syria, a move he said 'gives them a chance at greatness'. In Syria, a weary country is finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Eyes were glued to television screens which replayed video of Sharaa meeting Trump and hands gesticulated fervently as debates over the sanctions ending raged throughout the country. 'You need to wait a bit, there are steps that need to be taken by the experts,' an elderly man cautioned his peer, pausing for breath as they struggled to cycle up the narrow streets of old Damascus. Their slow ascent on rickety-framed bicycles is a common sight in Damascus, where cars and fuel have become increasingly out of reach for much of the country's war-battered, sanctions-laden population. Trump's sudden announcement exceeded even the most optimistic of Syrians' expectations. The US state department had been engaged in months of diplomacy with the new government, haggling over a set of conditions which would lead towards sanctions relief. In typical Trump style, conditions were thrown aside in favour of a sudden, bold announcement that 'all sanctions' would stop. The image of Trump shaking hands with Sharaa cemented what seemed inconceivable just days before: Syria was turning a page in its history. But experts have stressed that removing sanctions is complicated and that it will be a while before ordinary Syrians feel the effects of sanctions relief. 'The immediate impact is a good one. A lot of the regional investors that were eyeing the Syrian economy will be encouraged to move in. But big investors will take a bit more time,' said Sinan Hatahet, the vice-president for investment and social impact at the Syrian Forum. He estimated that it could take from six months to up to a year for Syrians to feel a difference in their standard of living. Syria has been under some form of US sanctions since 1979, but it was after the former Syrian president al-Assad started violently suppressing peaceful protests in 2011 that the US created a virtual economic embargo against the country. Starting with Obama, the US built a multi-layered web of sanctions on Syria through a mixture of executive orders and congressional legislation. Among the harshest of the sanctions was the 2019 Caesar Act, renewed in late December, which imposed sanctions on not only the Syrian government but also anyone who did business with it. Trump can wave away sanctions imposed via executive order, but would need a congressional vote to repeal the Caesar Act, which is set to expire in 2029. Here, there could be a stumbling block. There are deep reservations about Sharaa – who had a $10m bounty on his head until December – in Washington. Even among certain members of the Trump administration, particularly those in the evangelical wing, there are concerns over the Islamist government in Damascus. These fears were only redoubled in late March after an attack by pro-Assad fighters led to a wave of retaliatory killings of nearly 900 civilians, mostly Alawite, on Syria's coast. Rights groups said that pro-government fighters were responsible for many of those civilian deaths. Nonetheless, the image of Trump standing side by side with Sharaa marked a milestone for the new Syrian government, which viewed a meeting with the US president as a gateway to international legitimacy. The 37-minute meeting was the culmination of months of diplomacy by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which have emerged as key pillars of support for the nascent government in Damascus. The nod from the US also came despite Israel's strong rejection of Sharaa and his government in Damascus. Israel has refused to allow the new Syrian government to deploy its army in south Syria and has conducted hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian territory since the fall of Assad in December. Sharaa, by contrast, has said he does not want conflict with Israel. 'I think Trump was having his doubts about the Israeli policy to put a freeze on Sharaa and keep Syria disunited and weak, which is what the Israelis were pitching to everyone in Washington,' said James Jeffrey, who was the Syria envoy in Trump's first administration. Jeffrey pointed to a lack of Israeli airstrikes in Syria in the last 10 days as evidence that even within the Israeli establishment concerns were beginning to emerge about Israel's aggressive posture towards Syria. The apparent easing of hostilities, even if brief, has helped feed a cautious but growing optimism in Syria, as the country's economic and international isolation seemed to be coming to an end after nearly 14 years of war. 'Finally, we are taking a step forward. Now my kids have a future, maybe they will have some chance to succeed,' said Maher Nahas, a 42-year-old jeweller and father of two who lives in Damascus.

Donald Trump meets Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa after announcing end of sanctions

The Australian

15-05-2025

Business
The Australian

Donald Trump meets Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa after announcing end of sanctions

Donald Trump has met with Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, urging him to seize a historic opportunity to normalise relations with Israel and rid the country of terrorists, before flying to Qatar where he inked an economic exchange agreement. It was the first meeting between the leaders of the US and Syria in 25 years, with the US President describing al-Sharaa afterwards as a 'young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.' Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended the 33 minute meeting on the sidelines of The Gulf Cooperation Council at the Ritz-Carlton, while Turkey's President Recep Erdogan joined by phone. 'He's got a real shot at holding it together. I spoke with President Erdogan, who is very friendly with him. He feels he's got a shot of doing a good job. It's a torn up country,' the US President said afterwards. 'I think he's got the potential to do — he's a real leader. He led a charge and he's pretty amazing.' A readout of the meeting provided by the White House revealed that Mr Trump thanked Mr Erdogan and the Crown Prince for their friendship and encouraged Mr al-Sharaa to sign on to the Abraham Accords with Israel - the bilateral agreements for economic and diplomatic co-operation between Israel and Arab nations that began in Mr Trump's first term. Mr Trump also asked Mr Sharaa to tell foreign terrorists to leave Syria, to deport Palestinian terrorists, work with the United States in preventing the resurgence of ISIS and assume responsibility for ISIS detention centres in Northeast Syria. As he flew on to Qatar on Air Force One, Mr Trump said of Israel and Syria: 'I think they have to get themselves straightened up. I told him (al-Sharaa), 'I hope you're going to join when it's straightened out.' He said, 'Yes.' But they have a lot of work to do.' The US President – who has pledged to lift US sanctions on Syria – also discussed the Russia-Ukraine war and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Mr al-Sharaa said there was a new opportunity for his country now that Iran had withdrawn following the fall of the Assad regime. He said there was a shared US and Syrian interest in countering terrorism and eliminating chemical weapons. Mr al-Sharaa expressed hope that Syria could serve as a critical link in facilitating trade between east and west, and invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas. Following the meeting in Riyadh, Mr Trump flew to Qatar with Air Force One being escorted by Qatari jets. During the flight, the US President said Russian leader Vladimir Putin wanted him to attend meetings on Thursday in Turkey where Russian officials are due to meet with Ukrainian counterparts for the first face-to-face talks in more than three years. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) greeting Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa as US President Donald Trump looks on. Picture: Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP 'I don't know if he (Putin) is showing up. I know he would like me to be there,' Mr Trump said. 'And that's a possibility … I've been thinking about that. Now tomorrow, we're all booked out – you understand that. We're going to UAE tomorrow. So we have a very full situation. Now that doesn't mean I wouldn't do it to save a lot of lives and come back. But yeah, I've been thinking about it. I don't know that he would be there if I'm not there. We're going to find out.' After touching down, Mr Trump met with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani – the Emir of Qatar – and was greeted as a 'man of peace.' 'I know that you want to bring peace to this region. I hope that this time we can do the right thing and bring peace here in the region,' the Emir said. Mr Trump said he appreciated the co-operation of Qatar, including in relation to Russia and Ukraine. 'We'll bring peace, not only here, but I know you're very much involved in helping us in other regions like what's happening with Russia-Ukraine,' the US President said. 'And I think we're having some pretty good news coming out of there today and maybe tomorrow and maybe Friday frankly. But we'll see about that.' The pair signed several agreements, with the Qatari leader saying that 'we are going to another level of relationship between Qatar and the United States.' A statement from the White House said the two leaders had agreed to an 'economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion' and that Mr Trump announced economic deals 'totalling more than $243.5bn between the United States and Qatar, including a historic sale of Boeing aircraft and GE Aerospace engines to Qatar Airways.' It said that Qatar Airways had entered into a $96bn agreement to buy up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft, with the White House saying it was Boeing's 'largest-ever widebody order.' A series of other deals were also unveiled including US based quantum computing company, Quantinuum, entering into a joint venture with Al Rabban Capital, a Qatari company, to invest up to $1bn in state-of-the-art quantum technologies and workforce development in the United States. Read related topics: Donald TrumpIsrael

Trump's meeting with Sharaa, unthinkable just months ago, boosts Syrians' hopes

BBC News

14-05-2025

Politics
BBC News

Trump's meeting with Sharaa, unthinkable just months ago, boosts Syrians' hopes

Donald Trump has said his administration is now exploring the possibility of normalising relations with Syria - his comments coming shortly after he met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose forces ended the decades-long dictatorship of the Assad extraordinary encounter, unthinkable just months ago, was short but significant."I think he has got the potential," Trump remarked after his meeting in Riyadh, 37 minutes long, with the former Syrian fighter formerly linked to Al-Qaeda. The $10m US bounty on his head was only lifted in December. Video footage of their conversation in a lavish Saudi royal palace showed some initial awkwardness as they spoke through a translator. A beaming Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, sat next to them. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined them by acknowledged it was these two leaders who had convinced him to also lift the US's punishing Syria sanctions. His sudden announcement on Tuesday night at a major US-Saudi investment forum in Riyadh won him a standing ovation. It was a volte-face after his many previous posts on social media that the US had "no interest in Syria". "Tough guy, very strong past," is how Trump later described Sharaa to journalists travelling with his high-powered American delegation on his first official four-day was a very Trump gloss about Sharaa's old links to al-Qaeda. His Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria until he severed ties in 2016. HTS is still designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN, US and assuming power in December, Sharaa has been wearing Western business suits and trying to present himself as a president for all Syrians."It's a new light at the end of this tunnel," exclaimed Hind Kabawat, minister of social affairs and labour, in the interim government. She told the BBC's Newshour programme they had been calling for sanctions relief ever since their "Liberation Day".The US decision sparked celebrations across a county where 90% of Syrians are said to be living in poverty, after more than a decade of civil war and profound restrictions which cut Syria off from the international financial system will enable greater engagement by aid agencies and encourage foreign investment and trade. Trump pledges to lift Syria sanctions as he seals $142bn arms deal on Saudi visit "We are the North Korea of the Middle East," a hotel receptionist in Damascus told me last December when I asked for another electronic hotel key. He tearfully lamented that "we don't have enough cards, we have shortages of everything".It may also help convince some of the millions of Syrians living in exile to think more seriously about returning home. And it could help a fledgling government to pay salaries, begin to rebuild, and address the growing discontent over the privations of daily dismantling the vast web of sanctions now strangling Syria will take time. "Some sanctions can be removed immediately using presidential waivers," commented Dina Esfandiary of Bloomberg Economics."But lifting the multi-layered sanctions won't be easy and will require real commitment by the Trump administration."I remember travelling to Tehran in the wake of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the Obama administration's commitment to ease sanctions there. At the news conference with the visiting EU's high representative for foreign policy, Iranian journalists kept asking, with palpable anguish, why it was still impossible for them even to open a bank new friends, including regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, now positioning themselves to shape the new Syria, will need to ensure Trump and his team stay he's made it clear he expects something in return if there is to be a full normalisation of relations. The first item on his list is "join the Abraham Accords".The US president regards this process of normalisation with Israel, which several Arab states including the United Arab Emirates has joined, as one of his foreign policy achievements in his first praised by his friends as pragmatic, has already signalled that he understand the importance of building a working relationship with his neighbour, even though Israel continues to bomb what it calls "terrorist targets" – air bases, military installations and weapons depots – insisting they could "fall into the wrong hands".Last month, the Syrian leader reportedly told a visiting US congressman, Cory Mills, that Syria was prepared to normalise ties with Israel and join the Abraham Accords under "the right conditions".Israeli media have reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged President Trump not to lift sanctions. He remains suspicious of Sharaa and his HTS forces, as well other groups which include foreign fighters in their foreign fighters is another of Washington's demands; it's one of the very many challenges now facing Syria's Trump hailed this moment as "a chance at greatness". Millions of Syrians just welcome a greater chance that their lives will finally start changing for the better.

Trump says Syria leader backs Israel ties but has 'lot of work to do'

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