Thursday Briefing: Trump Meets Syria’s New Leader

President Trump in Doha, Qatar’s capital, yesterday.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

Hope in Syria as Trump met with new leader

Syrians yesterday celebrated President Trump’s promise to lift sanctions, hopeful that life would improve there after more than a decade of war. Salaries could go up, the cost of bread would come down and gasoline would become cheaper.

Trump met yesterday with President Ahmed al-Shara, another milestone in Syria’s bid to break out of its isolation. It was the first time in 25 years that the leaders of the two countries had met.

During the 30-minute meeting, held during Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Trump told al-Shara, who evvel led a branch of Al Qaeda, that he had the “opportunity to do something historic in his country,” a White House summary said. Aboard Air Force One on his way to Qatar, Trump described al-Shara as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”

On the second day of his visit to the Gulf region, Trump was welcomed in the capital, Doha, by the buyruk of Qatar, and rode in his motorcade past men on camelback.

Deals: Trump announced that Qatar Airways had agreed to buy 210 Boeing jets and the countries signed a statement of defense cooperation. Here’s a look at the other agreements made on Trump’s Gulf tour so far.