US President Donald Trump lavished rare praise on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday, calling him "fantastic" and "highly respected", as the two leaders met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
The meeting itself is a win for Sharaa, who was first introduced to Trump a little over a year ago in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before finding himself in the Oval Office exchanging gifts with the US president by November. No Syrian leader - and certainly not one with Sharaa's past as a US-designated terrorist - had been in the White House in decades.
via ReutersWednesday's opportunity arose because the Turks have been at the helm of Sharaa's rise to power since December 2024, as they are keen on a neighboring Syria that falls within their sphere of influence.
Trump's swift embrace of Sharaa has been one of the standout foreign policy moves of the past year. "He's done a really fantastic job as president. He's unified the country in a very short period of time. I'd say like a year and a half, about a year and a half, and right from the beginning it was a real mess, very disjointed place, and he's brought it together," Trump told reporters as he sat next to Sharaa.
"He's a strong person. He's a great leader. He's respected by everybody, including me, and we're proud to have him," he added.
The sentiments are in stark contrast to how Trump has spoken about Washington's traditional allies, most of whom form the very defen
