Syria’s president meets Trump for historic talks

Syria’s President Ahmad Al-Sharaa met President Donald Trump at the White House for unprecedented talks.

In remarkable scenes just days after he was removed from Washington’s terrorism list, Al-Sharaa climbed out of his motorcade to greet crowds of supporters outside the US presidential mansion.

Al-Sharaa, whose forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar Assad late last year, is the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the country’s 1946 independence.

Syria’s presidency said on X that Sharaa and Trump discussed the bilateral relationship, “the ways to strengthen and develop it, as well as a number of regional and international issues of common interest.”

The meeting with the Syrian leader took place behind closed doors without the media present.

But Syria’s presidency published photos of Trump standing and shaking hands with a smiling Sharaa beside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Other pictures showed the Syrian leader sitting opposite Trump with top US officials including Vice President JD Vance, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and top US military officer Dan Caine.