Trump wraps momentous Middle East trip with economic deals, Syria sanctions relief and warning to Iran
Trump met with Syria’s leader, President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia and confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would also meet with the Syrian foreign minister in Turkey this week.
“I am also ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh start. It gives them a chance for greatness, as the sanctions were really crippling,” he added.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Trump said in reference to rebuilding Syria and addressing the ongoing fighting that still persists in the country. “It gives them a good, strong chance. And it was my honor to do so.”
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP)
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Trump raised eyebrows earlier this week when he made the surprise announcement that he was considering traveling to Turkey from the UAE to participate in the Ukraine-Russia peace talks.
But Russia refused to say whether Putin would in fact be traveling to Ankara, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had intended to visit to start hashing out a solution to end Russia’s three-year-long invasion.
On Thursday, the Kremlin confirmed Putin would not participate in peace negotiations, which renewed questions over his seriousness in ending the war.
However, Trump downplayed Putin’s refusal to participate in the talks and suggested it was due to a schedule miscommunication.
“Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together. OK?” Trump said apparently annoyed over the question as to whether he was disappointed Putin would not participate in the talks. “He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go. He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there.
“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together” he added, suggesting the Thursday talks in Ankara are not expected to accomplish much. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.”
President Donald Trump and Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani gesture during a state dinner at Lusail Palace in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP)
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GAZA
Despite Qatar being a leading player in negotiations for an end to Israel’s deadly military operations in the Gaza Strip and the return of all 58 hostages still held there, the president did not directly comment on current efforts to end the war.
Instead, he doubled down on his previous suggestion that the U.S. should own the Palestinian territory, despite Middle Eastern nations, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE, repeatedly calling for a two-state solution as defined by U.N. borders.
Trump said he has seen “aerial shots where, I mean, there’s practically no building standing. It’s not like you’re trying to save something. There’s no buildings. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable.”
“I want to see that be a freedom zone. And if it’s necessary, I think I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone. Let some good things happen,” he added in reference to his idea that also calls for the removal of more than 2 million Palestinians.
Palestinians and Arab nations have rejected this idea and have largely backed an Egyptian proposal for the reconstruction of Gaza Strip. EU nations and the U.N. have also backed the $53 billion proposal.