Saudi Arabia and Turkey's leaders played a key role in convincing Trump to lift sanctions on Syria and meet with al-Sharaa.

U.S. President Donald Trump began a meeting with Syria's president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to a Washington Post pool report, after a surprise U.S. announcement it would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government.

President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would cease sanctions against war-torn Syria “in order to give them a chance at greatness,” as he seeks to strengthen ties to Saudi Arabia and others.

Sharaa, becoming the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader. The meeting marked a historic thaw in US-Syria relations, as Trump earlier announced the lifting of crippling sanctions imposed during the erstwhile Assad regime.

President Donald Trump announced that the United States will end sanctions on Syria and invited Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords during a speech in Riyadh on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday had tea with a former jihadist who until recently had a $10 million US bounty on his head.

WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump, whose family has major business interests in the Gulf countries he is visiting this week, said there was no talk of building a Trump Tower in Syria or golf during his meetings in Saudi Arabia that ended on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump arrived in Qatar on Wednesday -- the second day of his Middle East trip -- as fallout continues over the president's insistence on accepting a luxury plane from the country.His Qatar visit follows his meeting with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia.