The United States will do everything possible to ensure the success of Syria, said US President Donald Trump.
„We will do everything possible to ensure the success of Syria, because it is part of the Middle East. Now we have peace in the Middle East“, he said, answering questions from reporters at the White House.
Trump added that he had established a good relationship with the interim president of the Arab Republic, Ahmed al-Sharaa. „He is a very strong leader. And he is a tough guy. I like him, I get along with him“, the American president said.
He believes that al-Sharaa has the potential to lead his country to success. "We want to see Syria succeed and I believe this leader can do it. People say he has a tough past. We all have tough pasts," Trump added. A few hours earlier, he received al-Sharaa in Washington. According to the American press, this is the first visit by a Syrian head of state to the White House.
The current Syrian leadership believes it is essential that former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad be held accountable, said Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“Justice must prevail. "We have established a justice commission to hold all those involved, including Bashar al-Assad, accountable for their actions," he said in an interview with Fox News.
In October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during a meeting with journalists from Arab countries, said that Assad and his family members were in Russia solely for humanitarian reasons, as the former president had been subjected to physical violence in his homeland.
Ahmed al-Sharaa said that his past ties to the terrorist group al-Qaeda were not discussed during his talks with US President Donald Trump.
"I think that's a thing of the past. We didn't discuss it," al-Sharaa said, addressing the issue in an interview with Fox News after meeting with the US president at the White House. He said the talks focused on "investing in Syria's future so that it is no longer perceived as a security threat."
When asked if he regretted the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda militants, al-Sharaa said he had nothing to do with them and "mourned for every single person who died."
The Syrian government currently has no intention of negotiating Damascus' accession to the Abraham Accords, which provide for normalization of relations with Israel, al-Sharaa said.
“The situation in Syria is different from the situation in the countries that joined the Abraham Accords. Syria borders Israel, which has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967. "We have no intention of engaging in direct negotiations at this time," he said.
However, Al-Sharaa allowed such contacts to take place in the future, with the mediation of Trump and his administration.