Trump Tower in Damascus? Syria Seeks to Charm US President

[Lion of Shia]

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Trump Tower in Damascus?

Syria Seeks to Charm US President for Sanctions Relief

 

 

By Timour Azhari and Humeyra Pamuk

DAMASCUS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Trump Tower in Damascus, a detente with Israel and U.S. access to Syria's oil and gas are part of Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's strategic pitch to try to get face time with U.S. President Donald Trump during his trip to the Middle East, according to several sources familiar with the push to woo Washington.

 

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa listens to the speech of French President Emmanuel Macron (not seen) during a joint press conference after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool/File Photo© Thomson Reuters

Jonathan Bass, an American pro-Trump activist, who on April 30 met Sharaa for four hours in Damascus, along with Syrian activists and Gulf Arab states has been trying to arrange a landmark - if unlikely - meeting between the two leaders this week on the sidelines of Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

 

 

Syria has struggled to implement conditions set out by Washington for relief from U.S. sanctions, which keep the country cut off from the global financial system and make economic recovery extremely challenging after 14 years of grinding war.

Signaling a possible shift in Washington's policy, Trump said on Monday that he may ease U.S. sanctions in response to a query from his Turkish counterpart.

"We're going to have to make a decision on the sanctions... We may take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start," Trump told reporters.

"Many people have asked me about that, because the way we have them sanctioned, it doesn't really give them much of a start. So we want to see we can help them out. So we'll make that determination," he said.

Proponents of more U.S. engagement with Syria hope that getting Trump into a room with Sharaa, who still remains a U.S.-designated terrorist over his al-Qaeda past, could help soften the Republican administration's thinking on Damascus and cool an increasingly tense relationship between Syria and Israel.

 

 

 

Part of the bet for the effort is based on Trump's history of breaking with longstanding U.S. foreign policy taboos, such as when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea in 2019.

"Sharaa wants a business deal for the future of his country," Bass said, noting it could cover energy exploitation, cooperation against Iran and engagement with Israel.

"He told me he wants a Trump Tower in Damascus. He wants peace with his neighbours. What he told me is good for the region, good for Israel," said Bass.

Sharaa also shared what he saw as a personal connection with Trump: both have been shot at, narrowly surviving attempts on their lives, Bass said.

Syrian officials and a presidency media official did not respond to a request for comment.

Sharaa spoke with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday, according to the Syrian presidency.

 

 

A person close to Sharaa said afterwards a Trump-Sharaa meeting remained possible in Saudi Arabia, but would not confirm whether Sharaa had received an invitation.

"Whether or not the meeting takes place won't be known until the last moment," the person said.

'PUSH UNDERWAY'

To be clear, a Trump-Sharaa meeting during the U.S. president's visit to the region is widely seen as unlikely, given Trump's packed schedule, his priorities and lack of consensus within Trump's team on how to tackle Syria.

A source familiar with ongoing efforts said a high-level Syria-U.S. meeting was set to take place in the region during the week of Trump's visit, but that it would not be between Trump and Sharaa.

"There is definitely a push underway," said Charles Lister, head of the Syria Initiative at the Middle East Institute.

"The idea is that getting to Trump directly is the best avenue because there are just too many ideologues within the administration to get past."

 

Washington is yet to formulate and articulate a coherent Syria policy, but the administration has increasingly been viewing relations with Damascus from a perspective of counterterrorism, three sources including a U.S. official familiar with the policy-making said.

    That approach was illustrated by the make-up of the U.S. delegation in a meeting last month between Washington and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in New York, which included a senior counterterrorism official from the State Department, two of the sources said.

U.S. officials conveyed to Shibani that Washington found steps taken by Damascus to be insufficient, particularly on the U.S. demand to remove foreign fighters from senior posts in the army and expel as many of them as possible, the sources said.

The U.S. Treasury has since conveyed its own demands on the Syrian government, bringing the number of conditions to more than a dozen, one of the sources said.

 

The U.S. State Department declined to disclose who attended the meeting from the U.S. side and said it does not comment on private diplomatic discussions.

White House National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt said the actions of Syria's interim authorities would determine the future U.S. support or possible sanctions relief.

'OLIVE BRANCH'

A key aim of Syria's overtures to Washington is communicating that it poses no threat to Israel, which has escalated airstrikes in Syria since the country's rebels-turned rulers ousted former strongman Bashar al-Assad last year.

Israel's ground forces have occupied territory in southwestern Syria while the government has lobbied the U.S. to keep Syria decentralised and isolated.

Israel has said it aims to protect Syrian minority groups. Syria has rejected the strikes as escalatory.

Sharaa last week confirmed indirect negotiations with Israel aimed at calming tensions, after Reuters reported that such talks had occurred via the UAE.

 

In a separate effort, Bass said Sharaa told him to pass messages between Syria and Israel that may have led to a direct meeting between Israeli and Syrian officials.

But Israel soon resumed strikes, including one near the presidential palace, which it framed as a message to Syria's rulers to protect the country's Druze minority amid clashes with Sunni militants.

"Sharaa sent the Israelis an olive branch. Israel sent missiles," Bass said.

"We need Trump to help sort this relationship out."

(Reporting by Timour Azhari and Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Suleiman alKhalidi; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

 

iman alKhalidi; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Edited May 12 by Lion of Shia

[Diaz]

Syria officially sold their country but Syrians still celebrating as if they won lol

[Diaz]

Trump will lift ban from Syria. Now these terrorists will do whatever they want. I hope the minorities get in safer place. 

[Shaheed786]

While I don't like the new leadership in Syria, I don't think sanctions are ever good for anyone. They are used as a tool of economic warfare and mostly harm ordinary people in the target countries. The US has used embargoes and sanctions to destroy numerous countries around the world. 

[Ashvazdanghe]

5 hours ago, Diaz said:

Trump will lift ban from Syria

 

4 hours ago, Shaheed786 said:

While I don't like the new leadership in Syria

Salam both of Trump & US government are untrustworthy which only naive people will believe to lifting bans by them which using doctrine of carrot & stick is fundamental policy of the  US government which even Trump will lift some bans so then he & the  US government will define new bans & tariffs under guise of controlling the new leadership in Syria by using new excuses which again people of Syria will suffer from new bans & tariffs after lifting old bans . 

 

[mahmood8726]

6 hours ago, Shaheed786 said:

While I don't like the new leadership in Syria, I don't think sanctions are ever good for anyone. They are used as a tool of economic warfare and mostly harm ordinary people in the target countries. The US has used embargoes and sanctions to destroy numerous countries around the world. 

Well, syria is the first country they managed to destroy with sanctions, but it's basically another indirect form of seige warfare. Many people used to criticize it as not being useful in achieving regime change before syria, that was to persuade liberals and conservatives into not supporting this barbaric, immoral and uncivilised practice that their favourite politicians practiced. Glad it backfired when they tried that nonsense against russia in 2022 though, the west deserved that.

 

Unfortunatley many poor countries now will be sanctionned heavily if they dont comply with america, given syrias regime change worked. Supporters of western governments will also probably advocate for them, because "its worth it" that millions suffer if the end result is "democracy", just like they justify the nukes on japan. 

 

So unfortunatley, sanctions are not going anywhere. 

Edited May 14 by mahmood8726

[Azadeh307]

I suppose Iran has an easier time resisting sanctions than Syria because Iran has oil money and a many universities. 
 

Did anyone hear Daniel Haqiqatjou’s point today that when the Axis of Resistance stood up for Palestine they were accused of working with the West whereas when Syria works with the West and doesn’t stand up for anyone it is applauded by the same people. 
 

I hope schools double down on critical thinking classes for K-12…

Edited May 14 by Azadeh307

[Guest Orcadark0]

1 hour ago, Azadeh307 said:

I suppose Iran has an easier time resisting sanctions than Syria because Iran has oil money and a many universities. 
 

Did anyone hear Daniel Haqiqatjou’s point today that when the Axis of Resistance stood up for Palestine they were accused of working with the West whereas when Syria works with the West and doesn’t stand up for anyone it is applauded by the same people. 
 

I hope schools double down on critical thinking classes for K-12…

Most people are religiously ideological and that ideology casts a shadow on geopolitical views, such people who carry historical religious hatred can not think critically about geopolitics because the problem is deeper , it has to do with people's beliefs in religious texts that they consider too holy to criticize , for instance , a Sunni Muslim's view of Shia Muslims , if he/she considers them " infidels " or whatever , then they will not wanna side with Shia countries , even if they are doing something right, and they would rather defy logic just to maintain that position , this type of geopolitical view that is based on religious view is hard to be reviewed critically by such people because it entails a need for them to review their religious ideology which is something most religious ideologues are incapable of or will resort to confirmation bias when they pretend to think critically. 

[mahmood8726]

16 hours ago, Azadeh307 said:

I suppose Iran has an easier time resisting sanctions than Syria because Iran has oil money and a many universities. 
 

Did anyone hear Daniel Haqiqatjou’s point today that when the Axis of Resistance stood up for Palestine they were accused of working with the West whereas when Syria works with the West and doesn’t stand up for anyone it is applauded by the same people. 
 

I hope schools double down on critical thinking classes for K-12…

Pretty much, because sectarianism is a cancer or because they're brainwashed liberals/conservatives who hate iran and think it's isis 2.0. Although conservatives aren't praising the new regime in syria, so there is that. 

 

Recently I talked to an hts supporter and even after seeing joulani bootlicking trump, he still gave him excuses and claimed he was being "pragmatic", these people will defy logic as the guest above me said, to justify their beleifs, they will resort to the most insane mental gymnastics to justify their position. I swear if hts normalised with israel and aided in the israeli final solution/ethnic cleansing of 2 million palestinians, they will still find ways to justfy their support for hts. 

Edited May 15 by mahmood8726

[Northwest]

On 5/15/2025 at 1:18 PM, mahmood8726 said:

Pretty much, because sectarianism is a cancer or because they're brainwashed liberals/conservatives who hate iran and think it's isis 2.0. Although conservatives aren't praising the new regime in syria, so there is that.

@mahmood8726 A number of these “conservatives” do not have an especially clean record on Takfiri sectarianism. For example, following the Latakia massacres Secretary of State Rubio complained about HTS’s bigotry, yet he himself supported the Takfiri-led regime-change operation vs. Assad more than a decade ago. (When Obama failed to strike Assad post Ghouta, he even complained that the President did not enforce his own policy!) He and other “conservatives” knew, of course, that Takfiri militants were the most effective anti-Iran forces in the MENA and therefore Anglo-Zionist assets. At the end of the day they cared more about burnishing their image as “anti-Islam” poseurs than actually protecting minorities vs. Takfiri operatives. The petrodollar and Israel come first for them. (Both “liberal” and “conservative” factions eagerly spearheaded the Takfiri-aligned mujahideen factions vs. the Soviets in Afghanistan decades ago.)

On 5/15/2025 at 1:18 PM, mahmood8726 said:

Recently I talked to an hts supporter and even after seeing joulani bootlicking trump, he still gave him excuses and claimed he was being "pragmatic", these people will defy logic as the guest above me said, to justify their beleifs, they will resort to the most insane mental gymnastics to justify their position. I swear if hts normalised with israel and aided in the israeli final solution/ethnic cleansing of 2 million palestinians, they will still find ways to justfy their support for hts. 

^ There might actually be some truth to this. Takfiri mercenaries and their leaders are well known for being treacherous blackmailers, despite working closely—albeit tactically—with Anglo-Zionists on shared aims. Takfiri terrorists will often engage their strategic partners and backstab them at the same time. (I.e., despite being beholden to the U.S. and Co., al-Qaida kept attacking them—or rather their civilians rather than their rulers—while accepting their support for its activities vs. “Iranian-linked” Shias.) Notably, Jolani did not act to move against the PIJ in Syria until prodded by the U.S./Israel, so arguably he may have had his own agenda all along, while seeking to exploit all the major power-brokers. On certain issues he seems to be responding more to external pressures and political vicissitudes than anything else. On Iran he has always been aligned with the Anglo-Zionists, Turkey, and the GCC, of course, but on all else he has been opportunistic.