In his first foreign trip, the new President of Syria’s interim government, Ahmed al-Shara, met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. This meeting took place on Sunday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, as reported by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
Live footage broadcasted on television shows Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara shaking hands with the Crown Prince in Riyadh. Prior to this, Syrian President al-Shara was welcomed at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport by Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Governor of Riyadh.
SPA reported that, after al-Shara’s appointment as the new President of Syria’s interim government last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became the second Gulf leader to meet him. Along with al-Shara, Syria’s new Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al-Shibani is also visiting Riyadh.
Earlier, on Thursday, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met al-Shara in Damascus. After the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, al-Shara came to power. Since his appointment as President of Syria’s interim government, the Emir of Qatar was the first Gulf leader to meet him on Thursday.
Al-Shara, who led the operations against Assad’s government in Syria through Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has been seeking support from Arab and Western leaders since assuming power.
During his visit to Damascus last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan stated that Saudi Arabia is engaged in active dialogue with Europe and the United States to help lift economic sanctions imposed on Syria.