Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, where he was due to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
The summit of the military alliance, which closes on Wednesday, has brought together 36 heads of state, as well as several representatives from Gulf countries.
Al-Sharaa was invited by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Trump, who has flaunted his closeness to Erdogan, described his Syrian counterpart — a former jihadist fighter who came to power after toppling President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 — as “tough”.
“Because of the president (Erdogan), we have a very good relationship with Syria’s new leader,” the US leader told reporters on Tuesday.
