Donald Trump met with the leader of Syria and the chiefs of the Gulf States on Wednesday in Riad before traveling to Qatar, where the controversy is turning on the gifts of a luxury plane.
The president of the United States was ready to “greet” the new leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, last day in Riyadh, after promising eliminating sanctions against the country devastated by war.
“I will order the cessation of the sanctions that age Syria to give them a chance of greatness,” Trump said a speech in an investment forum in the Saudi capital.
“What I do for the heir prince,” he added, before joining the stage for the de facto leader of Saudi Arabias, Mohammed Bin Salman, who together with Turkey supported the Sunni Islamists who demolished Bashar al-Assad in December.
The measure occurs despite doubts about the direction of Syria of the ally of the United States, Israel, which has unleashed military attacks on its neighbor both before and after the fall of Assad, an Iranian ally.
Trump will also meet with leaders and representatives of the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
Diplomatic sites followed a day dedicated to sealing billions of dollars in commercial agreements, with the United States and Saudi Arabia signing a series of energy, AI, weapons and technology agreements.
The White House said Riad would buy almost $ 142 billion in arms in what he described as the largest weapons agreement.
Washington said Datavolt of the Saudi company was ready to pour $ 20 billion in projects related to artificial intelligence in the United States.
Technology companies, including Google, also invest in both countries, probably the welcome news for Saudi Arabia, which have faced lung restrictions that ensure advanced US technology.
– Qatar controversy –
Trump was ready to go to Doha around noon.
The small Gulf country that houses a wide American air base has also served as a mediator between Israel and Hamas to end the devastating War in Gaza.
But the stop has greatly confused by the controversy after the news that Trump planned the acceptance of a luxury plane of $ 400 million as a Qatar gift.
The Boeing plane would serve as a new more modern presidential plane and then put Trump’s personal use once it leaves the White House.
The measure raises huge constitutional and ethical questions, as well as safety conerns on the use of a plane donated by a foreign power such as the Air Force One ultra sensitive.
Chuck Schumer, the main Democrat in the Senate, promised on Tuesday to keep all the appointed politicians of the Department of Justice in protest of the move.
The visit to Qatar comes a few days after Washington negotiated directly with Hamas to ensure the release of a hostage with US citizenship, Edan Alexander.
Qatar, together with Egypt and the United States, hit the fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that came into force on January 19, a day before Trump’s inauguration, but could not finish the war.
The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with both sides unable to draw a path forward. Israel resumed air and terrestrial attacks through Gaza’s strip, blocked the aid and promised to conquer the territory.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the military Winder entered Gaza “with all his strength” in the next few days, saying: “There will be no situation in which we stop war.”
Trump was ready to finish his tour of the Gulf with a last stop at Abu Dhabi later in the week.
