-Analysis-
PARIS — Amid the billion-dollar contracts and bling of his visit to Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump pulled off a diplomatic coup, perhaps the boldest of his second term. He met for half an hour Wednesday with Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The new president of Syria, who is leading the country through a particularly delicate transition, is a former jihadist whom some Westerners still view with suspicion. The day before, Trump had already announced the lifting of all American sanctions imposed on Syria during the half-century-long regime of the Assad family.
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Once again, Trump has surprised everyone, and shows that he operates much more by instinct than expert diplomatic analysis. As he announced the lifting of Syrian sanctions, he turned to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and exclaimed: “Oh, what I do for the crown prince.”
MBS, as the Saudi strongman is known, personally attended the meeting with the Syrian leader, while another strongman, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s leader, was on the line with them.
Stability card
By endorsing the al-Sharaa, Trump is playing the card of the stabilization of Syria, despite the massacres of members of the Alawite and Druze minorities in recent weeks; and even looking past the leader’s jihadist past that includes al Qaeda membership.
Remember, when Ahmed al-Sharaa was received at the French presidential palace last week, far-right opposition leader Marine Le Pen tweeted “stupefaction and dismay”, and denounced President Emmanuel Macron’s “irresponsibility.” Will she be saying the same now that it’s Donald Trump who publicly supports stability and peace in Syria?
Netanyahu tried in vain to dissuade Trump
The stupefaction is even more intense in Israel: a newspaper close to Benjamin Netanyahu reported Wednesday that the Israeli Prime Minister had tried in vain to dissuade Trump from lifting the sanctions. Israel has carried out repeated military incursions into Syria, effectively destabilizing the country.
It’s yet another in a series of recent disagreements between Netanyahu and the American president, even though Trump has urged Syria to join the Abraham Accords in due course, that is, to acknowledge the Jewish state.
The Iran question
The Riyadh visit showed that Trump has made Saudi Arabia his main partner, not only in the region, but in the world. For personal and family reasons; because of the colossal investments promised by the Kingdom to the United States; but also for the role Saudi Arabia is now playing geopolitically.
The Wahabi kingdom is clearly establishing itself as the leader of the Sunni world in a time of deep crisis. MBS has become the whisperer in Donald Trump’s ear: Saudi Arabia wants stability in Syria and has therefore obtained the lifting of American sanctions. Syria will now be able to find the funding it needs to rebuild, which explains the cries of joy that greeted the news in Damascus.
But beyond Syria, this Saudi vision might ultimately influence Trump in his relationship with Iran — MBS wants to avoid a military showdown — or on the fact that the Gaza tragedy is an obstacle to normalizing relations with Israel.
Whatever the price, Mohammed bin Salman has made a good investment.
