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

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.

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.