Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is expected to attend next month’s NATO summit in Ankara, while a meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines is under consideration, according to reports citing a Syrian official.
Rudaw English reported Thursday that a Syrian official confirmed al-Sharaa would attend the summit in Turkey and said a meeting with Trump was being considered, although “no final decision has been made.”
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported separately that al-Sharaa had been invited to the summit, but said his schedule had not been finalized. Anadolu cited a Syrian official as saying a possible meeting with Trump in Ankara was under discussion.
The difference matters because NATO has not publicly confirmed Syrian participation in the July 7-8 summit, which will be held at the Beştepe presidential complex in Ankara and chaired by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
The alliance has said the summit will bring together NATO leaders to decide issues facing the 32-member bloc.
It will be the second NATO summit hosted by Turkey, after the 2004 summit in İstanbul.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on June 3 that Trump would attend the Ankara summit, despite tensions inside the alliance over US policy on Iran. Rubio told lawmakers the summit could be among the most important in NATO’s history because alliance disputes needed to be addressed.
Anadolu reported that a White House official said a separate al-Sharaa visit to Washington this weekend was “not on the schedule at this time” but added that Trump and al-Sharaa have “a strong relationship” and can contact each other when needed.
The possible Ankara meeting would extend a turn in US-Syria relations since the fall of Bashar Assad, whose family ruled Syria for more than 50 years before opposition forces ousted him in December 2024.
Al-Sharaa, who previously led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group that once had links to al-Qaeda, was appointed Syria’s transitional president in January 2025 after the collapse of Assad’s government.
His government has sought sanctions relief, security ties and foreign investment as it tries to restore relations with Western and Arab states.
Trump met with al-Sharaa at the White House in November 2025 in the first visit by a Syrian head of state to the White House since Syria’s independence in 1946.
Syria also said during that visit it was joining the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group, although a Syrian official said Damascus was not joining the coalition’s military mission.
Turkey has been one of the main outside powers in post-Assad Syria. Ankara backed armed opposition groups during Syria’s civil war and has since supported the new authorities in Damascus while pushing them to move against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Turkey considers the SDF an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. The SDF has been a US partner against the Islamic State group, creating tension between Ankara and Washington over Syria policy.
The invitation also comes as Turkey seeks to use the Ankara summit to draw attention to NATO’s southern flank, including Syria, Iran, the Eastern Mediterranean and the fallout from Israel’s military actions in the region.
Turkish media reported in May that Ankara wanted al-Sharaa and leaders from several Arab countries to attend the NATO summit, in part to give Syria’s new government visibility and to send a message to Israel. Some allies were reported to have reservations about the plan.
NATO’s public media advisory says bilateral meetings between delegations are not part of the official summit program and that details should be sought from the countries concerned.
Anadolu said al-Sharaa had also been invited to the G7 summit in Évian, France, from June 15 to 17, but that it was unclear whether he would attend. Reuters reported in May, citing sources, that Syria was expected to participate in the G7 for the first time.