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Ahmed al-Shara’s trip to Riyadh, where he spent his childhood, offers clues about his vision for a post-Assad Syria.
Feb. 2, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET
Syria’s newly appointed interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for his first foreign trip since his rebel coalition ousted longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Mr. al-Shara landed in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, early on Sunday afternoon. He is expected to stay in Saudi Arabia for two days and meet with the oil-rich kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, according to Syrian and Saudi state news media. The two leaders will discuss strengthening relations and how to garner support for the lifting of international sanctions imposed on Syria, according to Saudi media reports.
The choice of Saudi Arabia for Mr. al-Shara’s first trip abroad was widely seen as a reflection of Syria’s shifting political alignments under the country’s new leadership: Away from Iran, which was a key ally to the Assad regime, and toward the Gulf.
The trip follows a flurry of diplomatic meetings in Syria’s capital, Damascus, in recent weeks. Since the rebel coalition seized power in December, diplomats from Europe, the United States, the Gulf and Russia have flocked to Damascus to meet with Mr. al-Shara and establish contacts with his government.
The outcomes of those diplomatic overtures will help shape the new political map of Syria and the power dynamics across the Middle East, a region that is being remade in the wake of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the collapse of the Assad government.
Iran has had its influence across the region sharply diminished by Israel’s wars, which have targeted Tehran’s proxies. Russia is confronting a serious challenge to its military strategy in the Middle East and Mediterranean after losing its main ally in the region, Mr. al-Assad. And Turkey, which backed the rebels, has emerged as a leading force in Syria.
