President Donald Trump (r) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa|Andrii Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Gage Skidmore|CC BY 4.0; CC BY-SA 2.0

After announcing that he would end US sanctions on Syria, President Donald Trump dismantled years of government policy of treating Syria like a pariah and met with President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia.

Sharaa’s forces toppled Asaad’s regime. He was a former leader of a rebel group believed to be an offshoot of Al-Qaeda.

Trump is the first US president to meet a Syrian leader in 25 years.

After the meeting, Trump flew to Qatar and announced deals worth $243.5 billion.