Citing several sources familiar with the issue, Reuters said al-Sharaa is trying to get face time with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of his upcoming visit to West Asia this week.
Jonathan Bass, an American pro-Trump activist who met al-Sharaa in Damascus late last month, has been trying to arrange a meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa, who still remains a US-designated terrorist over his al-Qaeda past, on the sidelines of the US president’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Bass added the meeting could help soften the Republican President and his administration’s thinking on Damascus and cool increasingly tense ties between Damascus and Tel Aviv.
al-Sharaa “wants a business deal for the future of his country,” Bass continued, noting it could cover energy exploitation and engagement with Israel.
“He told me he wants a Trump Tower in Damascus. He wants peace with his neighbors. What he told me is good for the region, good for Israel,” Bass stated.
According to the Syrian presidency, al-Sharaa spoke with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on Sunday.
Afterwards, a person close to al-Sharaa said a meeting between Trump and the HTS head remained possible in Saudi Arabia, but would not confirm whether al-Sharaa had received an invitation.
“Whether or not the meeting takes place won’t be known until the last moment,” the person added.
The report, however, ruled out the meeting as “unlikely”, citing Trump’s tight schedule, his priorities and lack of consensus within Trump’s team on how to tackle Syria.
Last week, Israeli media reported that a delegation from the HTS-led administration in Syria made a secret visit to the occupied territories to hold direct talks with Israeli officials after al-Sharaa signaled readiness to normalize ties with Israel.
That came as Reuters reported that the UAE had facilitated a backchannel between Syrian and Israeli officials.
Al-Sharaa has recently expressed readiness to normalize ties between Syria and Israel amid Washington’s plans to revoke anti-Damascus sanctions and Israel’s occupation of more Syrian land.
The Hayar Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former branch of al-Qaeda, along with other militants, seized control of Damascus on December 8, 2024, forcing Assad, a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, to leave the country.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently described how the Israeli military helped the HTS takeover of Syria in December.
Since Assad was toppled, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes against Syria and occupied large swathes of territory in the country, in addition to the Golan Heights, which it occupied during the Six-Day War in 1967.
