MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The president is in Saudi Arabia today.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Yeah. He met in Riyadh with Syria's new leader, who, just months ago, was on the U.S.-designated list of terrorists, with a $10 million bounty on his head. The meeting comes after Trump saying he will lift decades of U.S. sanctions on Syria. The country's economy is struggling following its civil war and the ouster of the Assad regime.
MARTIN: To talk about this and more, we're joined by NPR's Aya Batrawy in Riyadh. Hi, Aya. Good morning.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So how significant is Trump's decision to lift sanctions on Syria?
BATRAWY: Michel, this could transform the region, not just Syria. And to get a sense of how big this decision is, have a listen to the reaction in the room when Trump announced this. He was at an investment forum in Riyadh, in front of the Saudi crown prince, when he said this.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.
(CHEERING)
BATRAWY: So this brought Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the entire room to their feet in a standing ovation. And it matters because Syria is a pillar of the Middle East. It's a beacon of culture and intellect. But for more than a decade, it was crumbling, and it was impoverished from civil war. This destabilized parts of the region. And throughout, those sanctions were really hurting average Syrians. You know, hospitals were struggling to get spare parts to keep machines or even elevators running. But now Trump says that was then, and this is now. And this new Syria, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, says it's ready to build a relationship with the United States.
Now, Trump's meeting with him today lasted half an hour. It included the Saudi crown prince, and Turkey's president joined over the phone. They touched on security concerns that the U.S. has with some extremist groups still in Syria. Another reason this reset matters, though, Michel, is that Arab states don't want Iran to have a foothold in Syria anymore, and the U.S. doesn't want Russia building back its bases there.
MARTIN: So, Aya, you know, we heard those cheers in the room. But is anybody not on board with this decision to lift sanctions?
BATRAWY: You know, lifting sanctions like this will be a complicated process. Syria is listed as a state sponsor of terrorism, and for that to be changed, this would have to go through Congress. Also, Israel has been carrying out airstrikes inside Syria for months. They call the new government extremist, and they have troops positioned deep inside Syrian territory indefinitely. Israel says it's concerned Syria could become a base of attacks. And we know that just last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked Trump not to lift sanctions on Syria.
MARTIN: OK. So we know that President Trump had been planning to focus on business deals while he's in the region. How have those deals been shaping up?
BATRAWY: So the crown prince told Trump he would get at least $600 billion in Saudi investments into the U.S. over the next four years. And the bulk of this is in defense and weapons sales to the kingdom, but it also includes deals in tech and AI. Now, Trump brought with him to Riyadh America's top CEOs - from companies like Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Boeing - and they lined up to greet Trump and the crown prince in a lavish reception. The handshakes show just how pivotal Trump is to the crown prince's relaunch. You know, it was only seven years ago that the world turned its back on him, after the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by his men inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey.
MARTIN: Yes. No, we cannot forget that. No. So President Trump is heading to Qatar next. What's on the agenda there?
BATRAWY: I think the trip is going to focus on two things. First, it'll be Qatar's unique role in the region as host to the biggest number of U.S. troops in the Middle East, but also as a host to groups the U.S. doesn't traditionally talk to - like Hamas, which the Trump administration is directly negotiating with, that led to the release of a U.S.-Israeli soldier and hostage on Monday. So we might hear surprises from Trump in Qatar later today about his vision for a Gaza ceasefire.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Aya Batrawy in Riyadh. Aya, thank you.
BATRAWY: Thanks, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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