Over tea, a deal with Damascus and a possible turning point for Middle East diplomacy

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🗓️ 18 May 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

On the first major foreign trip of his second term, President Trump met with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. His arrival was greeted with fanfare across the region — there were motorcades featuring Teslas, long processions of Arabian horses and camels, and traditional dance and musical performances. According to the White House, Saudi Arabia agreed to invest $600 billion in the United States. Qatar placed a huge order for Boeing Passenger jets.

But the biggest announcement of Trump's trip was a bit of surprise deal-making: after more than 20 years, Trump said, the U.S. will lift sanctions on Syria. President Trump and interim Syrian President al-Sharaa met for tea and also discussed the possibility that Syria could recognize Israel as a sovereign state.

NPR's Scott Detrow and Hadeel Al-Shalchi examine how this news was received in Israel, whether this moment be a critical turning point for Middle East peace and ask, can Trump actually deliver on these promises?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Over the past half century, U.S. presidents have made their first international visits to one of three countries, Canada, Mexico, or the United Kingdom.
0:08.0	We've traveled to London with President Carter this past weekend and met with his counterpart in the British government.
0:13.9	President George W. Bush met with Mexico's President Vicente Fox at the Mexican President's ranch last week.
0:20.2	We are welcoming a new day in the relationship
0:21.8	between America and Mexico. The visit to Ottawa was Mr. Obama's first foreign trip as president.
0:27.4	As neighbors, we are so closely linked that sometimes we may have a tendency to take
0:31.9	our relationship for granted. Only one president in the past 50 years has broken with that tradition.
0:38.8	President Trump is in Rio, Saudi Arabia.
0:40.9	This is the first stop on his first trip overseas as president.
0:44.4	In 2017, President Trump made Saudi Arabia his first international trip.
0:49.4	And he followed suit this year on his first major diplomatic swing of his second term.
0:54.3	This past week, Trump met with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
0:58.8	His arrival was greeted with fanfare across the region.
1:02.2	There were motorcades featuring Teslas, long processions of Arabian horses and camels,
1:07.2	traditional dances, and musical performances.
1:15.0	Music Camels, traditional dances, and musical performances. Derry Trump's first visit as president in 2017, his focus was mostly on religious
1:19.8	tension in the region between Israel and its Muslim majority neighbors.
1:23.6	But this time, it was all business.
1:26.6	According to the White House, Saudi Arabia agreed to invest
1:29.0	$600 billion in the United States. Qatar placed a huge order for Boeing passenger jets,
1:35.5	and the White House says the UAE agreed to a $200 billion deal with the U.S., though the figures
1:40.6	and the finer details of all of these deals are still murky.
	...

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