Syria denies former US ambassador claims of secret palace meetings with Sharaa

The Syrian presidency has denied claims by former US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, that he held private meetings inside the presidential palace in Damascus with Ahmad al-Sharaa, describing the reports as "inaccurate".

In comments to Al Jazeera, an official source from the Syrian presidency said the meetings Ford referred to did take place but were part of broader delegation visits organised to learn about the local governance model in Idlib.

The source stressed the gatherings were neither bilateral nor secret, as suggested by Ford.

The source added that one of the delegations was affiliated with a British research organisation and included Ford among its members.

Discussions during the visit were general and focused on Idlib's local administrative experience, without touching on the sensitive political topics Ford later referenced in his talk.

Ford's remarks came during a lecture he delivered at the World Affairs Council in Baltimore, Maryland, on 1 May. A recording of the session was uploaded to YouTube several days later.

In it, Ford said he had participated in a UK-based conflict resolution initiative aimed at "rehabilitating" al-Sharaa and integrating him into formal political life.

He revealed that the first meeting with al-Sharaa took place in 2023, followed by a second in 2024 and a third in January 2025. That final visit, he said, lasted ten days and included meetings inside the presidential palace.

Ford admitted he was initially hesitant to accept the assignment due to al-Sharaa's former ties to al-Qaeda, but ultimately agreed after consulting with others who had engaged in similar dialogue efforts.

Al-Sharaa, known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, was designated a terrorist by the US, which has offered a $10 million reward for his capture since 2013.

During the lecture, Ford noted that al-Sharaa had not issued a direct apology for his role in operations in Iraq and Syria but acknowledged that the methods he once used in Iraq were "not suited to running a civilian region of four million people" - a reference to Idlib, which al-Sharaa now controls following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Ford also shared a personal anecdote from the meetings, recalling a moment of levity: "Not in a million years did I think I’d ever sit beside you," he said to al-Sharaa. "Nor did I," came the calm reply.

His comments came just days before US President Donald Trump met al-Sharaa in Riyadh, marking the first high-level US-Syria meeting in 25 years.

On 13 May, a day before their meeting, Trump announced his intention to lift US sanctions on Syria.