Trump on the golf: Trump encourages Syria to recognize Israel

Almost half a year after the political upheaval in Syria, the country is heading for a possible recognition of Israel. US President Donald Trump personally hit the Syrian transition president Ahmed al-Sharaa and called on to recognize Israel. It was only on the evening before that Trump surprisingly announced the end of the US sanctions against Syria, where a rebel alliance under the leadership of Islamists had overthrew rulers Bashar al-Assad in early December.

Al-Schaharaa now has a “huge opportunity to do something historical for his country,” said Trump, according to the White House at the meeting, which, according to reports, took about half an hour. Trump referred to Al-Sharaa, who once belonged to the Islamist terrorist network Al Qaeda in Iraq and spent several years in US captivity, later as “young, attractive and hard guys”.

The meeting of the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, one of the hosts during Trump’s trip through the golf region, had arranged. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan switched on by phone.

Last encounter in this format 25 years ago

The encounter of a US president with a Syrian head of state alone is remarkable-recently this format was between Bill Clinton and Hafis al-Assad 25 years ago. After that, a meeting of this kind was completely unthinkable for a long time because of the brutal rule of the Assad family.

Al-Sharaa, who led the militias alliance to the fall of al-Assad, is striving for international recognition and has already been received by France President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

The State Agency SPA published pictures of how a somewhat nervous al-Sharaa in Riad with a notebook in hand together with Trump and the crown prince around a telephone system, over which Erdoğan is switched on. Al-Sharaa belonged to extremist groups for many years and is still listed as a terrorist by US authorities. In Iraq, he had joined the Al Qaeda terror network, but later said.

Since Israel was founded in 1948, Israel and Syria view themselves as enemies. There is still no official peace treaty, the two neighboring countries fought themselves in several wars. Israel conquered the Syrian part of the Golan heights in 1967 and annexed the area, which is not recognized internationally and what remains a central point of dispute. Trump formally recognized the area in 2019 in its first term as a territory of Israel.

Long bombed Israel’s army goals in Syria to push back the influence of the militias supported by Iran and to caps the Hisbollah care channels in Lebanon. Also since Assad’s fall, which was allied with Israel’s arch enemy Iran, Israel continues to fly air strikes in the country and has laid troops to Syrian territory.

Relationships between Israel and Syria in change

With Assad’s escape, however, Israeli-Syrian relationships have changed in a significant way. The focus is on Al-Sharaa, who has opened openly for an approach to Israel. The relationship with Israel in the Syrian population is poisoned, which is why Al-Sharaa and his ministers avoid to mention the country’s name publicly at all. Criticism of Israel comes – if at all – behavior and in diplomatic tones.

A new relationship develops gradually in which both states could end their permanent state of hostility. For this, Syria would also have to recognize the special status of the Drusian minority in the country, for which Israel is committed. Persistent struggles in Syria and violence against the Drusen show that the country is far from real stability and peaceful coexistence.

Since it recently became known that there were indirect discussions between Syria and Israel, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has reported on Syria’s new government for the first time. Israel would like good relationships with the neighboring country, quoted the “Times of Israel” Saar at a press conference in Jerusalem. Saar had previously criticized “the pure malice of the jihadists”.

Trump wants to build on Israel approaches from the first term

Around 30 of almost 200 countries worldwide have no diplomatic relationships with Israel, most of them are mostly Muslim. In the Arab world, only Egypt and Jordan had relationships with Israel for a long time, and in 2020 the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and later Morocco and the Sudan followed under US mediation.

Trump wants to connect to this success from his first term. At a meeting with leaders of the Gulf States in Riad, he praised the Emirates and Bahrain for their steps and said: “I hope that we can soon build on this progress.” During Trump’s ongoing journey through the Goländer, there was also speculation as to whether Saudi Arabia could literally normalize his relationships with Israel, which seemed excluded for decades. Trump says his visit to the region is “good for Israel”.

Because the two countries have never entertained diplomatic relationships, an approach would probably only be slow. An opening of messages would have to be decided as well as the mutual recognition of passports or the inclusion of direct air traffic. Only slowly, economic relationships or trade could develop gradually. According to the White House, Al-Sharaa invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas production.

Al-Sharaa can hope for an economic fresh start for his country with the cancellation of US sanctions that he has been calling for months. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have agreed to support Al-Sharaa and his transitional government financially, here the US sanctions are probably the biggest hurdle. The European Union has also started to loosen the first sanctions. According to UN estimates, the reconstruction of Syria could cost $ 250 to $ 400 billion.

“Now her time has come. We all raise (sanctions),” said Trump at an investor forum in Riad. In Syrian cities, cheers broke out after the announcement. A man in Damascus spoke of a “second victory over the former regime”. A meeting of the Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Schaibani with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explore the further steps is already set.