President Trump has arrived in Qatar after two days in Saudi Arabia. Earlier today, Trump met with Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former al-Qaeda leader who helped topple the regime of Bashar al-Assad last December. During the meeting in Saudi Arabia, Trump urged al-Sharaa to normalize ties with Israel and join the Abraham Accords. Trump also asked the Syrian leader to deport Palestinians he described as “terrorists.” After the meeting, Trump said, “We are currently exploring normalizing relations with Syria’s new government.” The meeting took place hours after Trump pledged to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria in a major policy shift.

President Donald Trump: “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.”