NEED TO KNOW
- On Monday, Nov. 10, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump
- During their unprecedented meeting, Trump gifted the former al-Qaeda commander a bottle of perfume
- The U.S. president also asked the Syrian leader how many wives he has
During a White House meeting with Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday, Nov. 10, President Donald Trump made an unexpected comment.
As Trump, 79, presented al-Sharaa, 43, with a perfume bottle, Trump sprayed the fragrance on the politician, calling it “the best fragrance.”
“And the other one is for your wife,” Trump said, before quickly asking, “How many wives?”
“One,” Al-Sharaa replied.
“With you guys, I never know,” Trump replied.
This was the third meeting between the two presidents and their first in Washington, D.C. They previously met in May alongside the Gulf Cooperation Council, and again at a September UN General Assembly dinner, according to Reuters.
Trump and al-Sharaa’s meeting comes as al-Sharaa has been traveling the world after toppling former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Al-Sharaa was identified as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” until last week. The former al-Qaeda commander had a $10 million bounty on his head, which the U.S. removed in December, according to Al Jazeera.
The meeting in Washington was the first of its kind between leaders of Syria and the U.S. since Syria gained independence from France in 1946, reports the Associated Press. This visit also came after the U.S. Treasury Department suspended the Caesar Act for 180 days, six years after the former Syrian government was sanctioned under al-Assad’s regime, per the BBC. However, only Congress can completely lift the sanctions, according to Reuters.
Al-Sharaa toppled al-Assad’s regime nearly a year ago. Since then, al-Sharaa has worked to distance himself from his past as a jihadist. He has stated that he is working to rebuild and unify Syria, per NBC News.
“We’ve all had rough pasts, but he has had a rough past. And I think, frankly, if you didn’t have a rough past, you wouldn’t have a chance,” Trump said, addressing al-Sharaa’s past, according to Reuters.
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NBC News reported that al-Sharaa agreed to join the U.S.-led coalition that is working to defeat the Islamic State militant group across the Middle East. Syria is now permitted to reopen its embassy in Washington.
“The United States will allow Syria to resume operations at its Embassy in Washington to further counterterrorism, security, and economic coordination,” a senior administration official told NBC News.
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