Link to article: Trump meets with Syria’s interim president, a first between the nations’ leaders in 25 years
This article talks about the recent, and rather historical, meeting between President Trump and Syria’s current interim president Al Sharaa. What’s worth noting is that Sharaa had ties to Al Qaeda through his own rebel off-shoot faction up until 2016. Their meeting was pretty prosperous, as Trump complimented Al Sharaa greatly, and even spoke about Damascus entering the Abraham Accords. This hasn’t officially happened yet, but it is clear Syria is gearing itself up for a larger, less conflict-ridden, scene in the global arena as well as with the global hegemon. Another advancement from their meeting was an end to sanctions in Syria, which came as a disappointment to Israel especially with Trump’s discontent with their hawkish leader. The most interesting thing that this article proves is Syria’s role as a power center in the Middle East. As a shatterbelt region with multiple, four exactly, great powers, that being Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran, they all seek some leverage in the war-torn state for greater regional hegemony. We can see this with Turkey, as they previously backed Syrian rebel groups such as HTS and are looking to secure their leverage in the country. Iran was especially at a loss of leverage with Assad’s ousting in December, given that he led a pseudo-Shia Islamist government which is now Sunni. Saudi Arabia comes into play as they as well as Turkey helped orchestrate this meeting between Trump and Syria. Riyadh’s stature as an economic power in the region gives it opportunities to advance itself, as it has been trying diplomatically. More on the coup performed by Al Sharaa’s HTS, it truly has led to multiple power shifts, even this historical one of the US ending sanctions in Syria and beginning less conflict-ridden relations, allowing Syria to enter trade deals and the global market potentially. From a theoretical view. this shift in relations between Damascus and Washington sort of counters constructivism, which posits that a state will interact with another state according to perceptions and identities formed from differing, or shared, histories, cultures, values, etc. This isn’t the case here, as we see the United States welcoming future Syrian relations with open arms. One might argue that it is because Syria is being run very differently under Al Sharaa and has “fixed themselves up,” but this interim government is still giving way to a Sunni Islamist group with coalitions related to Al Qaeda still. Opportunities of trade and economic benefits will supersede this, as per a more realist analysis of the situation.