<figure id="attachment_3268194" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3268194" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3268194" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/a2fdb216-kurdish.jpg" alt="Kurdish" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3268194" class="wp-caption-text">Kurdish residents in Erbil, Iraq, demonstrate against Syria’s attacks on Kurdish areas in northern Syria. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he spoke to Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and was pleased by developments on the ground, after an offensive by Damascus against Kurdish fighters long backed by Washington.
The two spoke by telephone a day before the Syrian leader visits Russia, the key backer of former president Bashar al-Assad, toppled in late 2024 by Sharaa&#8217;s Islamist forces.
&#8220;I had a great conversation with the highly respected president of Syria, and all of the things having to do with Syria and that area,&#8221; Trump told reporters.
&#8220;It&#8217;s working out very well, so we&#8217;re very happy about it.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s show of support contrasts with earlier threats by one of his key backers in Congress, Senator Lindsey Graham, to reimpose sanctions on Syria in response to the recent offensive.
Shifting away from his threats, Graham on Tuesday instead credited Trump with restoring stability and demanded that Saudi Arabia use its influence on Syria to &#8220;keep the region from falling further into chaos.&#8221;
Syria&#8217;s national army launched the operation to regain control over the country&#8217;s north and east, where Kurdish fighters had created a de facto separate state during the brutal civil war, before reaching a fragile ceasefire.
Sharaa told Trump of &#8220;Syria&#8217;s full commitment to its territorial integrity and its national sovereignty and the state&#8217;s keenness to preserve its institutions and promote civil peace,&#8221; according to a statement by the Syrian presidency.
The United States had allied with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces beginning over a decade ago to fight the Islamic State extremist group, which had gained control over vast swathes of Syria and Iraq.
But Trump envoy Tom Barrack said this month that the partnership had outlived its usefulness and backed the Syrian government&#8217;s efforts.
The United States has since helped move Islamic State prisoners held for years by the Syrian Democratic Forces to across the border in Iraq.
Trump has ended sanctions and taken other steps to boost Sharaa, who has traded his guerrilla attire for a business suit, at the urging of Sharaa&#8217;s allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey and despite misgivings by Israel.

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