Trump hails GCC's role in Mideast tour

On the second day of his Gulf tour, United States President Donald Trump found the region's leaders making an appeal to find a lasting solution to the Palestinian issue, following a surprise announcement from his administration to lift sanctions on Syria.

In his opening address at the US-Gulf Cooperation Council countries' summit on Wednesday, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud said he looked forward to working with the US to find a comprehensive lasting solution for the Palestinian people.

The day before, the Crown Prince and Trump signed the Strategic Economic Partnership between the two governments apart from witnessing a series of deals.

He also expressed his hope that the Gulf states' relationship with the US would reach even higher levels, Al Jazeera reported.

Trump, in his speech, praised the Gulf nations for being "at the forefront of creating a stable, peaceful and prosperous Middle East".

Addressing the Gaza conflict, Trump said he shared the "hope of so many in this region for a future of safety and dignity for the Palestinian people" and acknowledged the GCC leaders' "constructive role" in bringing an "end to this terrible conflict".

He also said Washington was "exploring" the normalization of ties with Damascus.

On Wednesday, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted photos on its X account of Trump meeting with Syria's interim government leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in the presence of Prince Mohammed. Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly joined the meeting online.

Trump has become the first US president in 25 years to meet with a Syrian leader, following Trump's offer of sanctions relief aimed at encouraging the war-torn country to change its course. The two leaders held brief talks ahead of the Gulf summit, Arab News reported.

On Tuesday, Riyadh and Washington signed a raft of deals — ranging from energy security to defense and technology — amounting to $600 billion in investment commitments.

Among the deals was a record defense sales of nearly $142 billion. The agreement would entail the US providing Saudi Arabia with "state-of-the-art war-fighting equipment and services from over a dozen US defense firms", Xinhua News Agency reported.

Following Riyadh, Trump headed to Doha in Qatar.

Rasha Al Joundy, a senior researcher at the Dubai Public Policy Research Centre, called the lifting of sanctions by the US on Syria a "historic moment".

"This decision would open Syria for a major economic transformation that would enable the central government in Damascus to stabilize the security, military, and economic situation in all of Syria," Al Joundy told China Daily.

Shift in politics

"This is a major shift in regional politics, Syria is back to its Arabic fold, and soon would be an important player," she added.

On Gaza, she noted that Trump had been talking about ending the war even before he returned to office, but added he faced obstacles from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Since he is getting things done when he is dealing directly with Hamas, I think President Trump needs to be clear and assertive to secure the stop of this war," said Al Joundy.

Gokhan Ereli, Gulf studies coordinator at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Turkiye, told China Daily that the "most fundamental purpose" of Trump's Gulf visits "is to strengthen economic partnerships between the US and the Gulf countries and to make the Middle East a place where more trade can be done".

"In order to achieve the second goal, conflicts in the region must be stopped and countries that have emerged from conflict must be integrated into the Middle East political system. The Gulf countries and the US agree on these issues," said Ereli.

He noted that Trump was having problems with Netanyahu even before the president's visit to the Gulf. The two countries' divergent policies on "the Houthis, Iran and Gaza" remain the primary source of disagreement.

In this context, Ereli said, a Gulf visit without even clearly mentioning Israel, and a $142 billion military equipment supply and investment partnership with Saudi Arabia indicate that US-Saudi relations will be significantly strengthened.

"Here, the US-Saudi Arabia ties will gain serious momentum and Trump will try to realize his visions for the region with the help of the Gulf (states), whether Netanyahu likes it or not, in military, political and economic terms," Ereli added.