U.S. President Donald Trump met with Syria's president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and said Washington was exploring the normalizing of ties with Damascus.
It comes after a surprise announcement the day before that the United States would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government.
Trump met Ahmed al-Sharaa in the presence of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
He said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also joined the meeting, virtually.
"We are currently exploring normalizing relations with Syria's new government, as you know. Beginning with my
meeting with President Ahmed al-Sharaa."
At a summit between the U.S. and Gulf Arab countries afterwards, Trump said he was lifting sanctions to give Syria the ability to make a fresh start, after decades of iron-fisted rule under former president Bashar al-Assad and his father.
"It gives them a chance for greatness. The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful."
According to the White House, the U.S. president also urged Sharaa to normalize ties with Syria's long-time enemy Israel.
The U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalize relations with Israel in 2020.
Trump said on Tuesday Saudi Arabia would join the accords in its own time.
Talks were halted after the Gaza war erupted, with the kingdom insisting there can be no normalization without Palestinian statehood.
U.S. ally Israel has opposed sanctions relief for Syria, but Trump on Tuesday said that MbS and Erdogan, who are both close to the U.S. president, had encouraged him to make the move.
Sharaa severed ties with al Qaeda in 2016, but Israeli officials have continued to call him a jihadist.
Israel's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The decision is a major boost for Sharaa, who has been struggling to bring the country under control after toppling Assad in December.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-meets-syrias-sharaa-urges-133246947.html
