Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa after lifting sanctions against the Arab country.

Donald Trump met this Wednesday in Riyadh with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa , whom he asked to normalize relations with Israel, following the surprise initiative to lift sanctions against Damascus.

Al Sharaa has a jihadist past, having served time in a US prison in Iraq and for a time leading an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. He seized power in Damascus last December, leading a coalition of rebel forces that overthrew Bashar al-Assad in a lightning 11-day campaign.

The interview, described as brief and informal by Washington, lasted just over half an hour, from 10:07 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. local time, the White House said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the meeting via video call, the official Turkish press agency reported.

Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman also attended, according to a photo from the official Saudi Press Agency, which shows the US president and his Syrian counterpart shaking hands.

The day before, on his first day in Riyadh, during a day marked by economic pressure, Trump unexpectedly announced the lifting of US sanctions imposed on Syria due to the repression carried out by the Assad regime.

The Syrian government hailed it as a "fundamental turning point" for the country, devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war that has left half a million dead and millions displaced.

The news was celebrated in Damascus, where a crowd gathered in the iconic Umayyad Square. "We hope this opens a new era in Syria," said Ahmed Asma, a 34-year-old man.

The end of sanctions means that "Washington accepted Saudi Arabia's guarantees to legitimize the new Syrian administration," said Rabha Seif Allam of Al Ahram's Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo.

It will allow Syria to "receive the necessary financing to revive the economy, impose central state authority, and launch construction projects" with the support of the Gulf states, he added.

Washington accepted Saudi Arabia's guarantees to legitimize the new Syrian administration.

At the meeting, Trump asked Al Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel, take control of prisons holding members of the Islamic State group, and expel Palestinian "terrorists" from Syria.

The meeting was met with reluctance by Israel, a key US ally in the region.

Israel, which occupies part of the Syrian territory in the Golan Heights, routinely bombs Syrian territory, as it did under the Assad regime, and is wary of the new Islamist authorities in Damascus seeking to rebuild the country.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry, for its part, spoke of a "historic" meeting, but made no mention of a possible normalization of relations with Israel, nor did state media.

Trump himself said that the sanctions imposed during the Assad era had been "really devastating" for the Syrian economy. " It won't be easy anyway, so this gives them a good opportunity" to get back on their feet, the president emphasized.

The US president will also meet in Riyadh with other leaders of the Gulf states as part of his tour, which also includes Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Oman are undergoing economic transformation , opening up business opportunities for American companies, and have achieved diplomatic clout that extends beyond the Gulf region.

The talks will feature several topics, including US negotiations with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program, the war in the Gaza Strip, and the activities of the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

But Trump came to the region primarily to sign major economic agreements.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pledged Saudi investments of up to $600 billion in the United States, in major arms contracts and projects related to artificial intelligence and energy.

After visiting Saudi Arabia, Trump arrived in Qatar on Wednesday, a stopover that could prove even more uncomfortable for the president.

The reason is a Boeing 747-8 offered to Trump by the Qatari royal family to, at least temporarily, replace the presidential plane, Air Force One. Experts value it at $400 million, and Trump argues that it is only a "temporary gift."

But the Democratic opposition in the United States accuses him of having accepted "the largest foreign bribe in recent history" and intends to delay some presidential appointments in the Senate.

Beyond the suspicions of corruption raised by the gift, the Qatari offer raises questions about the security of the plane that will transport the president of the world's largest economy.