Trump's Middle East tour begins with Syria looming as strategic opportunity

President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for his first major overseas trip since retaking office hoping to secure major deals on bargain and diplomatic breakthroughs across the Middle East The president might have an unexpected and willing partner in Syria s new president who could offer him a huge diplomatic win This is a historic opportunity and it would be a shame if the U S lost it Natasha Hall senior fellow with the Middle East Venture at the Center for Strategic and International Studies CSIS advised Fox News Digital President Trump seems open to renewed relations with Syria including the possibility of lifting crippling sanctions imposed under the previous regime of Bashar al-Assad ISLAMIST GROUP RUNNING SYRIA HAS MIXED RECORD OVER GOVERNANCE IN PROVINCE RULED WITH 'IRON FIST' We may take them off of Syria because we want to give them a fresh start President Trump narrated reporters in the Oval Office on Monday The president added that we want to see if we can help them out and that a determination on Syria sanctions will be made at particular point Syria now for the first time has a regime in power that is not only no longer reliant on Iran to survive but is quite hostile to Iran and so that would be a big opportunity lost if the U S didn t step up Hall added Mouaz Moustafa executive director of the Syrian Exigency Task Force a non-profit helping to bring democracy to Syria in recent weeks met with Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus Moustafa exclusively stated Fox News Digital that the two spoke for over three hours about a feasible breakthrough in U S -Syrian relations which have been severed since following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war which led to the deaths of over people Moustafa and others are pushing for a meeting between al-Sharaa and President Trump during his visit to the Gulf this week For Syria s new leadership this will be their opportunity to persuade the new administration to do business with a country coming out of a devastating -year civil war and mend ties with a leader who was once aligned with the Islamic State and al Qaeda Syria s objectives are quite clear on why they would want to meet President Trump in Saudi Arabia to make headway on specific of these core issues of cooperation and to alleviate any of the concerns the White House may have And chosen of the things they ve been trying to do is to show that they can be cooperative on intelligence issues on business and talking about companies seeking to do business in Syria CSIS Hall revealed SYRIA'S NEW REGIME HITS HEZBOLLAH TARGETS IN LEBANON OVER SUGGESTS ITS FIGHTERS WERE EXECUTEDYet others urge caution Right now Sharaa is not restricting political and civil liberties but he's an authoritarian by nature former U S Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford informed Fox News Digital Ford who was the last U S ambassador in Damascus was pulled from the embassy in October after the Syrian uprising turned violent Ford led the effort to put al-Sharaa on the terrorist list in and disclosed although he is pragmatic he is leading an extremely weak governing body He doesn t control all of Syria yet The cabinet in Damascus that he leads is not very strong and it will take time to reassert all of its authority over Syria Ford explained Ford does not believe al-Sharaa will pursue terrorism as he did in the past but while there have been selected promising developments since taking power the U S must keep its expectations relatively low Syria is so weak militarily and economically with lots of internal political divisions Therefore it's not going to be in a position to sign huge arrangements with the U S Ford cautioned A senior official in the Syrian Foreign Ministry advised Fox News Digital that President al-Sharaa emphasizes that the new Free Syria seeks to establish a strong strategic relationship with the United States one grounded in mutual interests and shared partnership The senior official added that Damascus sees U S President Donald Trump as the leader most of capable of achieving peace in the Middle East noting that Syria hopes to become an progressing and influential ally to Washington on regional issues Moustafa also met with members of the National Safety Council and conveyed the Syrian president's desire for a new partnership The National Defense Council did not promptly respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment The new Syrian leader has already shown a willingness to cooperate on selected key issues significant to the U S The new Syrian administration has cooperated with U S intelligence agencies and foiled several ISIS plots to attack Damascus Syrian intelligence services also arrested ISIS commander Abu al-Harith al-Iraqi in February TRUMP TARGETS MASSIVE INVESTMENTS IN FIRST MIDDLE EAST TRIPMoustafa also announced that al-Sharaa was worried about the massive buildup of Iranian-backed militias along the Iraqi side of the Syrian dividing line This is a worry for the U S as well as the Trump administration he announced as it has been looking to reengage with Iran to curb its nuclear activity In al-Sharaa s eyes the deal of the century would bring peace to Syria and its neighbors including Israel Moustafa added the deal would keep China Russia and Iran out and allow U S troops to go home in the right way Yet critics warn a possible deal with the United States is not without its obstacles Al-Sharaa led the Islamist rebel group Hay at Tahrir al-Sham HTS to win over the Assad dictatorship in December He had a million bounty for his capture that was lifted in February amidst the administration s efforts to talk to the new Syrian authorities CHRISTIAN WATCH GROUP RISES UP TO PROTECT NEIGHBORHOOD AMID GROWING VIOLENCE IN SYRIAHTS is still a designated foreign terrorist organization which complicates doing business in Syria The question at hand is whether to believe that a change in behavior following the fall of the regime translates into a more permanent change in character ideology and governance Caroline Rose director of The New Lines Institute stated Fox News Digital Rose who in recent weeks traveled to Syria noted that while HTS has been incrementally emerging away from affiliations with terrorist organizations and has adopted particular moderate elements over time there are still doubts that this will stick particularly with contemporary sectarian tensions Skeptics of lifting restrictions on Syria instantly fear that any move could be too premature and could exposure the U S credibility among its regional counterparts Rose added Since becoming president al-Sharaa has formed a transitional administration composed of close allies from the HTS rebel group and a mix of technocrats former opposition leaders civil society activists and even specific former members of the Assad executive The temporary constitution signed by al-Sharaa in March guarantees basic freedoms such as freedoms of opinion expression and the press It also protects women s rights and promises equal rights for all Syrians regardless of ethnicity religious sect or gender yet it still leaves the country under Islamist rule during the transitional process There remain particular concerns over the power concentrated in the hands of the president The president can unilaterally declare a state of exigency and suspend basic rights if national shield is threatened The vast powers granted to the executive in the new constitution is a reminder for several Syrians of the authoritarian past several suffered at the hands of the Assad regime for over years Although there is a new sense of optimism within Syrian society about its future civil peace and guard remain elusive Deadly sectarian clashes in March launched by remnants of the former Assad regime in Syria s coastal region led to the deaths of members of the safeguard forces Forces allied with the leadership and armed civilians responded with brute force The Syrian Architecture for Human Rights shared that these groups were responsible for the deaths of at least people Tensions have also escalated with Syria s Druze population as well highlighting the delicate balance of Syria s complex ethnic divides and the new authority s ability to control various armed factions The Associated Press contributed to this account