Despite his Islamist background, al-Sharaa has shown more pragmatic than ideological since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria, a move celebrated in the country where Ahmed al-Sharaa has been trying to rebuild after more than a decade of civil war and international isolation.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesady became the first American president to meet with his Syrian counterpart in a quarter of century, holding informal talks with interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh.