Trump starts his foreign trip with a crush of problems — and outsized certainty he has the answers

By AAMER MADHANI and DARLENE SUPERVILLE WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump set out on a three-nation visit to the Middle East on Monday a trip he had originally intended to use to focus on his efforts to press wealthy Gulf nations to pour billions in new expenditure into the United States Related Articles Civil rights agency moves to fire judge fighting Trump directives House Republicans propose billion for private school vouchers Judge refuses to block IRS from sharing tax material to identify and deport people illegally in U S House GOP reveals Trump s tax breaks for tips overtime and car loans in bill but costs run high Tool update keeps Newark airport radar online but architecture concerns and flight limits remain But now Trump finds himself navigating a series of geopolitical crises and searching for glimmers of hope in the deep well of global turmoil that are casting greater import on the first extended overseas trip of his second term This world is a lot safer nowadays than it was a week ago Trump crowed to reporters as he sized up the foreign program challenges he s facing as he heads to Saudi Arabia Qatar and the United Arab Emirates And a lot safer than it was six months ago The president was brimming with an overabundance of confidence about specific of the world s preponderance intractable problems from tensions in South Asia to the future of sanctions in Syria to the war in Ukraine But behind closed doors Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim al-Thani and Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed will be looking to get a bead on how Trump intends to push ahead on resolving the war in Gaza dealing with Iran s rapidly progressing nuclear undertaking and addressing India-Pakistan tensions And after weeks of threats and cajoling it remains to be seen if Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will listen to Trump who is demanding they meet in Istanbul this week to discuss ending Russia s war on Ukraine Trump for his part projected confidence that the meeting will happen and even seemed somewhat optimistic that the end to the conflict is near He floated the idea of making a detour from his itinerary to visit Turkey if he thinks his presence would be constructive I was thinking about flying over I don t know where I am going be on Thursday Trump mentioned I ve got so a multitude of meetings There s a possibility there I guess if I think things can happen But Ukraine s allies remained deeply skeptical Monday about prospects for talks and whether Putin was serious about peace If there is no ceasefire there cannot be talks under fire European Union commission vice president Kaja Kallas described reporters at a meeting on Ukraine in London We want to see that Russia also wants peace It takes two to want peace it takes only one to want war and we see that Russia clearly wants war Trump sees opening in Gaza Just as Trump was preparing to depart Washington for the Saudi capital of Riyadh the last living American hostage in Gaza Edan Alexander was circulated Trump and administration bureaucrats framed the moment a goodwill gesture toward Trump by Hamas as a chance to get foundering peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas back on track This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators Qatar and Egypt to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved one Trump posted on social media after Hamas extended the offer Sunday Hopefully this is the first of those final efforts necessary to end this brutal conflict While Trump pumped up Alexander s release as a prospective turning point Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was far more subdued Israel notably has not stepped back from plans to expand its war in Gaza Netanyahu s office in a announcement Monday underscored it had not committed to a ceasefire of any kind or the release of terrorists in exchange for Alexander The negotiations will continue under fire during preparations for an intensification of the fighting the prime minister s office announcement explained Trump takes a different tone on Syria As he prepared to leaved Washington Trump also stated he s weighing removing sanctions on the Syrian ruling body It s an issue that s top of mind for the three Gulf leaders who have rallied behind the new executive in Damascus and will want Trump to follow through President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews Md on his way to Riyadh Saudi Arabia Monday May AP Photo Manuel Balce Ceneta We may want to take them off of Syria because we want to give them a fresh start disclosed Trump adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged him to do so The comments marked a striking change in tone from Trump who has been deeply skeptical of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa Al-Sharaa took power after his Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham HTS led an offensive that toppled former President Bashar Assad in December The Trump administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian establishment Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place Cajoling India and Pakistan with contract Trump also took credit for his administration keeping India and Pakistan from returning to a state of all-out war amid the deadliest fighting in six years between the nuclear armed neighbors The president commented he and aides were ultimately able to talk sense to India and Pakistan s leadership and guide them away from further escalation by dangling carrots while also threatening both nations with sticks I noted Come on we re going to do a lot of exchange with you guys Trump revealed If you stop it we ll do arrangement If you don t stop it we re not going to do any business People never use transaction the way I used it The situation remains tenuous Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Monday that his country has only paused its military action and will retaliate on its own terms if there is any future terror attack on the country Big differences remain in Iran nuclear talks The president will arrive in the region after his special envoy Steve Witkoff held the fourth round of nuclear talks Sunday in Oman with Iran s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi As the talks continue the Trump administration has sent mixed messages about what nuclear work Iran would be allowed to do under a anticipated deal Senior administration officers including Secretary of State Marco Rubio have declared that Tehran would be required to import enriched material to run nuclear reactors for civilian purposes Trump however declared this past week that his administration hasn t made a decision on the issue It s also unclear if Trump will insist that Tehran give up encouragement of Hamas in Gaza Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen as part of any nuclear deal Whatever his negotiating frame may be Trump seemed confident that Iran is engaging rationally and that he will cement a deal soon You can t have a nuclear weapon Trump explained of his demand for Iran But I think that they are talking intelligently However the two sides still appear a long way from any deal even as time passes on a two-month deadline imposed by Trump Madhani released from Dubai United Arab Emirates AP writer Jill Lawless contributed from London