Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Trump says he will ease sanctions on Syria and move to restore relations with new leader
AP ^ | May 13, 2025 | ZEKE MILLER, BASSEM MROUE and AAMER MADHANI

Posted on 05/13/2025 1:50:47 PM PDT by ETCM

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will ease sanctions on Syria and move to normalize relations with its new government to give the country “a chance at peace.”

Trump made the announcement shortly before he was set to meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of longtime leader Bashar Assad. Trump said the effort at rapprochement came at the urging of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed,” Trump said of Syria, adding, “I say, good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Syria
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last
Trump is busy in the Middle East. He also announced a $142 billion arms sale, part of a larger $600B deal with KSA, and laid out a larger vision for peace and prosperity in the Middle East. A more comprehensive cover of his visit is here:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-mideast-saudi-arabia-mbs-qatar-uae-b782fe922d09afced2e1074b65016e80

Next stops, QATAR and UAE.

1 posted on 05/13/2025 1:50:47 PM PDT by ETCM
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: ETCM

Sounded like it was a request from the Crown Prince he was honoring.


2 posted on 05/13/2025 1:53:18 PM PDT by rovenstinez (Wo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ETCM

Why are we helping the new caliphate?


3 posted on 05/13/2025 1:53:49 PM PDT by montag813
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ETCM

Does Trump consult with the current Ambassador at-large for international religious freedom regarding Christian treatment in Syria?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashad_Hussain


4 posted on 05/13/2025 2:01:46 PM PDT by posterchild
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: montag813; posterchild

Aw, get with the program. The Head Chopper in Chief has changed outfits and switched monikers — and has been magically transformed into Mr. Democracy In Action.

His days in Al Qaeda and ISIS are behind him now, and State has removed the $10 million bounty they had on his head. We’re not supposed to notice that heads are still being chopped.


5 posted on 05/13/2025 2:11:30 PM PDT by CatHerd (Whoever said "all's fair in love and war" probably never participated in either.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: montag813

Better to make more friends than more enemies?


6 posted on 05/13/2025 2:12:03 PM PDT by Bobbyvotes
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: ETCM

Now that the CIA/State/Israeli goal of overthrowing Assad is complete, we drop sanctions against the new ISIS government of Syria.

Sanctioned Assad hard, ISIS takes over and it’s all good now.

Disgusting.


7 posted on 05/13/2025 2:13:14 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DesertRhino

Don’t forget Sultan Erdogan. He had a big fat finger in that pie. Still does, actually.


8 posted on 05/13/2025 2:16:30 PM PDT by CatHerd (Whoever said "all's fair in love and war" probably never participated in either.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: DesertRhino

What has Assad been up to in Moscow lately? Seems kind of quiet there. Maybe his evac flight out of Syria DID get shot down like some said.


9 posted on 05/13/2025 2:17:04 PM PDT by desertsolitaire
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: rovenstinez

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_al-Sharaa

Of course that filthy Crown Prince requested that.
Al-Sharaa is a Saudi Wahabbist ISIS man.
He was also literally a member of Al Qeida. (You remember Al Qeida... they did this thing in New York, it was in all the papers).

So now the head camel jockey, wants his brotherly head chopper in Syria to get a little respect. Disgusting to see DC, no matter WHO is in charge, constantly fellating Saudi leaders.

The Repubs have impeded Trump on the DOGE, the Tariffs, Pharma, and deportations. They haven’t lifted a finger to pimp slap the judicial insurrection lawfare. And seems like most of our efforts are fiddle farting around with the middle east and Ukraine.

Sometimes I wonder why we even had an election.


10 posted on 05/13/2025 2:20:01 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: ETCM

ISIS guy

We and Israel supported him in beginning of that war

So no surprise in that now

One note

Young Saudi chief is not doubt liberalizing his country

He may rue that one day is my guess


11 posted on 05/13/2025 2:21:17 PM PDT by wardaddy (The Blob must be bled dry)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DesertRhino

PDJT was handed a schiff sandwich. I see there are 3 options:
1. Ignore the reality and let the head choppers go on with head chopping.
2. Engage in a never ending war with the head choppers.
3. Use different diplomatic approaches and economic leverages to restrain the head choppers from more chopping.


12 posted on 05/13/2025 2:25:37 PM PDT by Choppo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: ETCM

All anyone needs to know, is that you can think anything you want about 9/11. But you cannot read the secret 28 page report of Saudi government sponsorship of the attack.

It’s a slap in the face to every person who jumped to their death to escape a blast furnace inferno to cultivate friendship with the Saudis. We should still nuke Mecca and seize their assets here and any of their oilfield regions.

It’s a filthy easily defeated country and it’s America’s shame that we kowtow to them.


13 posted on 05/13/2025 2:30:54 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wardaddy

Astute observations. Wise words.


14 posted on 05/13/2025 2:33:45 PM PDT by CatHerd (Whoever said "all's fair in love and war" probably never participated in either.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Choppo

Bullcrap. So you can use diplomacy and economic incentives to restrain an ISIS/Al Qeida man and his movement.... but that wouldn’t work on Assad a secular leader who was the most liberal (in the classic sense) of any leader in the Arab world?

Baloney.


15 posted on 05/13/2025 2:34:04 PM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2025... RETURN OF THE JEDI...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: DesertRhino

I used to despair of our trying to make pets out of terrorists, over and over. I said that if I were SecState, I’d plaster Foggy Bottom with posters of The Frog And The Scorpion fable.

But maybe it really is on purpose. Look at how our War on Terror only served to proliferate terrorists. Col. Larry Wilkerson can get way out in whacko left field these days, but maybe his Crescent of Chaos theory isn’t really so whacky.


16 posted on 05/13/2025 2:39:02 PM PDT by CatHerd (Whoever said "all's fair in love and war" probably never participated in either.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: wardaddy
We and Israel supported him in beginning of that war

Interesting that "ISIS guy" has made several references to formally recognizing and establishing relations with Israel. Meanwhile, Israel has continues to conduct airstrikes on Syrian military facilities and equipment. Now Trump comes out and drops sanctions and begins the process of normalizing relations with Syria. It seems this is one piece of Trump's vision for peace in the middle east that Bibi doesn't agree with.

17 posted on 05/13/2025 2:49:06 PM PDT by ETCM (“There is no security, no safety, in the appeasement of evil.” — Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: ETCM

Bibi was all in on the head choppers’ takeover of Syria. The Turks and the American carved their hunks out of the carcass of Syria, and Bibi figures he’s entitled to his chunk. And he’s taking it.

Qatar is expecting its ROI by other means.


18 posted on 05/13/2025 3:06:16 PM PDT by CatHerd (Whoever said "all's fair in love and war" probably never participated in either.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; BraveMan; cardinal4; ...

19 posted on 05/13/2025 4:43:48 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: wardaddy

“We and Israel supported him in beginning of that war”

I call BS on this - we have been trying to kill this guy from the beginning. Please cite a source showing the US supported him.

$10 million bounty on him back in 2017:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/05/10/US-offers-10M-reward-for-information-on-al-Nusra-leader/5921494432213/

If you look back at May 2013, you can see the official declaration of terrorist status:

https://www.state.gov/executive-order-13224/

Before that he worked for Zarqawi in Iraq, so we were definitely trying to kill him in the mid-2000s as well.


20 posted on 05/13/2025 5:35:32 PM PDT by Wayne07
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson