WASHINGTON (LifeSiteNews) – U.S. President Donald Trump met in person with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is a former al-Qaeda commander, in Washington on Monday despite concerns that Christians, mainly Catholics, continue to be targeted in parts of Syria by extremists.
Trump’s visit with al-Sharaa came shortly after the U.S. Treasury Department said that Syria’s president would be removed from its “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.”
“In line with President Trump’s efforts to give Syria a chance at greatness, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control removed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattab from its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,” the Treasury Department wrote in an X post the day before the meeting.
The official X account for the Syrian presidency posted photos of al-Sharaa’s meeting with Trump, saying the pair discussed “ways to strengthen and develop” bilateral relations as well as “a number of regional and international issues of common interest.”
Trump told the press that al-Sharaa is a “tough guy” who “comes from a very tough place,” adding that the United States will “do everything we can to make Syria successful, because that’s part of the Middle East.”
“We have peace now in the Middle East – the first time that anyone can remember that ever happening,” he said.
Not everyone seemed pleased with the meeting, with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia saying Trump should focus on issues at home instead of abroad, also noting that Christian persecutions have not stopped after Al-Sharaa became leader.
She wrote a lengthy post on X, reminding everyone that the new leader of Syria is a “former Al Qaeda terrorist wanted by our government who is meeting with President Trump today at the White House on the U.S. Marine’s 250th anniversary.”
“He rose to power in Dec 2024, sanctions were lifted off Syria in June, and many Christians and minority groups have been killed before and after sanctions were lifted,” she noted.
“Syria is the oldest home of Christianity outside of Israel. The apostle Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus. I pray the persecution ends, not only in Syria, but all around the world.”
“However, I would really like to see nonstop meetings at the WH on domestic policy not foreign policy and foreign country’s leaders. Start by hauling in the health insurance company’s executives and let’s start formulating our Republican plan to save America from Obamacare and ACA tax credits that have skyrocketed the cost of health insurance!”
LifeSiteNews recently reported that the Trump administration said it will be providing medical and other humanitarian aid to persecuted minorities in the Syrian region of Suwayda.
At one point, Al-Sharaa had a $10 million bounty on his head. He was the one who ousted former President Bashar-al Assad in a coup last December.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, both Turkey and Israel funneled weapons to the rebels who took over and who have slaughtered Christians in the months that followed, and who also took credit for the toppling.
The United States has extended a suspension of sanctions against Syria for six more months.
The U.S. State Department, in a November 10 statement, noted that Trump “expects to see concrete actions by the Syrian government to turn the page on the past and work toward peace in the region.”
Persecution of Catholics continues in parts of Syria
As reported by LifeSiteNews, anti-Christian violence continues to rise in Syria despite the new change in power.
In October, Syriac Catholic Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama, and al-Nabek, who spent months in ISIS captivity, warned that the church in Syria is “dying.”
“The Syrian people continue to suffer violence, reprisals, and tragic and regrettable events that undermine all the international claims and popular demands to put an end to this bloodbath,” he said.
“We are becoming more and more like Afghanistan. We don’t have that level of violence yet, but we’re not that far off either. People are under all sorts of pressure. Don’t think we are heading towards greater freedom, religious or otherwise.”
As noted by LifeSiteNews, faith in the current Syrian government’s ability to protect Christians has plummeted since Assad was overthrown. Assad, while no saint, was known to often visit Christians in the country. Extremist elements such as the Muslim Brotherhood were often kept at bay during his reign.
In 2011, an estimated 2.1 million Christians lived in Syria. In 2024, it is reported that there are now only 540,000 Christians left.
