The US president praises Al-Sharaa, who is scheduled to travel to Moscow on Wednesday to meet Russian President Putin, following the Syrian army’s offensive against the Kurdish-led SDF.
Published on January 28, 2026
US President Donald Trump said he was “very satisfied” with developments in Syria, following an offensive by the Syrian army against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) previously supported by Washington.
Trump made the comments after a call with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, before the Syrian leader left for Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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“I had a great conversation with the very respected president of Syria and everything related to Syria and this region,” Trump told reporters.
“It’s working very well, so we’re very happy with it,” the US president said.
A statement from the Syrian presidency said al-Sharaa stressed to Trump “Syria’s full commitment to its territorial integrity and national sovereignty as well as the state’s concern to preserve its institutions and promote civil peace.”
Al-Sharaa also discussed the importance of unifying international efforts to prevent the return of “terrorist groups,” including ISIL (ISIS), according to the statement.
Trump later told Fox News that he and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had “solved a huge problem together with Syria,” without providing further details.
The SDF announced on January 18 that its forces had withdrawn from the towns of Raqqa and Deir Az Zor in northeastern Syria following the Syrian army’s offensive. The announcement was received mixed reactions from city dwellers.
The White House has long supported the SDF in Syria, but US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said last week that the Kurdish-led group’s role as the “main anti-IS force on the ground” had “largely expired”, with the Syrian government assuming security responsibilities in the country.
The US envoy said the situation in Syria had “fundamentally” transformed, with Damascus joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS as its 90th member at the end of 2025.
Washington’s shift in stance on the SDF initially sparked some questions within Trump’s Republican Party, with Senator Lindsey Graham saying the US should reimpose sanctions on Syria in response to the recent offensive.
However, Graham has since given Trump credit for restoring stability in Syria.
The Kremlin announced on Tuesday that Putin would hold talks with al-Sharaa in Moscow on Wednesday.
“It is planned to discuss the state and prospects of bilateral relations in various areas, as well as the current situation in the Middle East,” the Kremlin said.
